Clippers win
Rodney McGruder hit a three-pointer with 26.5 seconds left, and the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Portland Trail Blazers 122-120 on Saturday.
CLIPPERS 122, TRAIL BLAZERS 117
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Clippers Coach Doc Rivers rested Kawhi Leonard and sat Paul George for the final five minutes to follow Los Angeles’ plan to restrict playing time.
They still pulled out a very big win over the Portland Trail Blazers when AllStar Damian Lillard missed a couple of free throws late.
“We still feel we should win regardless of who’s in the game,” George said. “We still have a high expectation. I think we showed it, what we’re capable of, not having all our guys on the floor at one time.”
Rodney McGruder hit a three-pointer with 26.5 seconds left, and the Clippers beat the Trail Blazers 122-117 on Saturday.
Portland had a chance to ensure a play-in for the Western Conference’s final playoff berth and eliminate Sacramento with a win. The Trail Blazers led for much of the game, but the NBA’s top-scoring team inside the bubble was outscored 12-5 in the final 96 seconds.
“We had our chances,” Portland Coach Terry Stotts said. “Give the Clippers credit. They had a bunch of young guys running around. We didn’t make the plays.”
George finished with 21 points. Landry Shamet scored 19, Reggie Jackson added 17, Marcus Morris 15, JaMychal Green 13 and Lou Williams 12.
CJ McCollum led Portland with 29 points, hitting 6 of 13 three-pointers. Gary Trent Jr. also made six three-pointers and finished with 22 points. Lillard had 22, Carmelo Anthony added 21, and Jusuf Nurkic had 10 points, 13 rebounds and 9 assists.
Portland led 115-110 on a free throw by Nurkic with 2:58 left. The Clippers scored five in a row, tying it at 115 with 1 minute left on a three-point play by Patrick Patterson. Lillard put Portland up with a driving layup, then McGruder scored from the top of the key with 26.5 seconds left to put the Clippers ahead to stay at 118-117.
Lillard, an 87% freethrow shooter, missed a pair of free throws with 18.6 seconds to go. He also missed a three-pointer with 9.5 seconds left.
In Saturday’s other games, Jamal Murray scored 23 points in his first game of the NBA restart, including the tying and go-ahead baskets, and the Denver Nuggets beat the Utah Jazz 134-132 in two overtimes. The Nuggets overcame Donovan Mitchell’s 35 points, including a three-pointer with 4.2 seconds remaining in the second overtime. But he missed a desperation heave from near half-court as the game ended. Murray, playing his first game since March 11 after missing four games with left hamstring tightness, sank a jumper for a 123-123 tie, then beat the shot clock with a go-ahead three-pointer. He also had 12 rebounds and eight assists. … T.J. Warren scored 39 points, including seven in a row in the final two minutes, and the Indiana Pacers beat the Los Angeles Lakers 116-111. LeBron James had 31 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists. A week after scoring a career-high 53 points in the restart opener, Warren hit a floater for a 109-108 lead, followed by a jumper and a three-pointer for a sixpoint edge with 10 seconds to go. The Pacers improved to 4-1 in the bubble and moved a half-game ahead of Philadelphia for the fifth seed in the East. … Devin Booker scored 35 points and Jevon Carter added a season-high 20 points as the Phoenix Suns remained undefeated in the NBA restart, beating the Miami Heat 119-112. Carter made six of eight three-pointers as the Suns improved to 5-0 in the restart. Miami is currently the No. 4 team in the Eastern Conference playoff standings. Duncan Robinson and Tyler Herro each had 25 points to lead the Heat. … Luka Doncic scored 36 points and the Dallas Mavericks scored the last seven points of regulation to force overtime, going on to a 136-132 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks. Doncic also had a career-high 19 assists and 14 rebounds. Milwaukee star Giannis Antetokounmpo had 34 points, 13 rebounds and 5 blocks before fouling out in the final seconds.