Blake Griffin scored 21 points and pulled down 14 rebounds, as the Los Angeles Clippers outlasted Portland, 74-71.
Mo Williams added 17 points and six boards off the bench, while Chris Paul chipped in with 13 points and six rebounds for the Clippers, who have won four of five.
Nicolas Batum and Jamal Crawford led Portland with 19 points apiece, while Wesley Matthews posted 16 points. Raymond Felton didn't score in just over 24 minutes, finishing 0-for-7 from the floor for Portland, which has lost three of four and squandered an 18-point lead in the third quarter.
Portland raced out to an early lead, scoring eight of the final 10 points to take a 27-20 advantage into the second quarter. Crawford's trey with 5.9 ticks to go capped the scoring in the first stanza.
The Trail Blazers then rattled off the first eight points in the second quarter, claiming a 35-22 advantage on Thomas' mid-range jumper. The lead got as high as 15 points and stood at 43-32 after 24 minutes of game action.
Just like the second period, Portland jumped out strong to increase its lead in the third quarter. Matthews' three and Gerald Wallace's layup completed a quick 7-0 burst for a 50-32 edge. The Clippers responded with the next eight, but couldn't get closer than the 60-52 margin they faced entering the fourth quarter.
It didn't take long for the Clippers to make things interesting, drawing within 66-64 on Paul's layup with just over five minutes to go and taking the lead just over a minute later on Williams' trey. Paul followed with a three- pointer to cap an 8-0 burst, and the margin grew to 72-67 with 1:05 to play on a Paul pull-up jumper.
"I couldn't make a shot. [The Blazers] were doing a really good job of defending," said Paul. "I'm still mad I didn't perform, but in the fourth quarter I was telling the guys that's where it matters."
Matthews kept Portland in the game with a tough trey, but Williams calmly sank two free throws for a 74-70 game with 18.7 seconds remaining and the Clippers hung on from there.
"It's a collapse, a total collapse," said Crawford. "In the fourth quarter it felt like that we started playing like we were playing from behind and we were up. They became the aggressors."
Game Notes
