Clippers 100, Trail Blazers 94

PORTLAND, Ore. — Guard Jamal Crawford came off the bench for 25 points and guard Chris Paul had 23 points — including 10 straight free throws over the final 4:35 — and 10 assists as the Los Angeles Clippers topped the Portland Trail Blazers 100-94 Wednesday night at the Moda Center.

Center DeAndre Jordan collected 17 points and 18 rebounds for the Clippers (26-13), who won for the sixth time in eight games.

Forward LaMarcus Aldridge scored 37 points with 12 rebounds for the Trail Blazers (30-9), who lost for only the third time in 16 outings.

Paul made only 6 of 18 shots from the field but was 10-for-10 at the line and grabbed six rebounds in his 41 minutes.

With Crawford (15 points) and Jordan (13 points) doing much of the damage, the Clippers took a 50-49 lead into halftime. Aldridge was the big gun for Portland, scoring 22 points on 10-for-16 shooting before the break.

Forward Meyers Leonard hit a pair of free throws to draw Portland even at 72-72 with 1:26 left in the third quarter. The teams took that score into the final period.

Guard C.J. McCollum’s driving layup gave the Blazers a 76-74 edge, their first since the game’s first minute. Portland built its advantage to 85-79 with seven minutes left, but the Clippers scored six straight to tie it at 85-85 with 5:20 to play.

Guard Damian Lillard drilled a 27-foot 3-pointer, but Paul sank four straight free throws to pull L.A. back on top 89-88 with 4:35 to go. Crawford’s bomb from 3-point land made it 92-89 with 3:55 remaining.

Crawford buried an 18-footer to make it 94-89 with 2:05 left, but Aldridge scored on a fadeaway to cut it to 94-91 with 1:45 to go.

Paul made a pair at the line for a 96-91 Clippers advantage with 1:16 left, then all but wrapped things up with two more gift shots for a 98-91 edge with 23.6 seconds on the clock.

The Clippers led throughout most of the first quarter, taking a 27-21 advantage into the second period. Jordan had eight points on 4-for-4 shooting to go with eight rebounds in the quarter.

Crawford hit four straight rainbow jumpers — the last one from 3-point range — to push the Clippers ahead 41-32 midway through the second quarter.

NOTES: The Trail Blazers entered the game ranked fifth in the NBA in 3-point percentage (.377) and first in opponents’ 3-point percentage (.287), a disparity rarely seen in the league. “The 3-point shot is a big part of our game at both ends,” Portland coach Terry Stotts said. … Clippers coach Doc Rivers, asked if Portland G Damian Lillard is making a name for himself: “He’s not making a name for himself; he’s already made one. Doesn’t he have a new shoe that just came out? That’s impressive. I never had a shoe.” What would Rivers’ shoe look like?

“It’d be heavy, and it’d be slow,” he cracked. … Rivers, on the Clippers’ perennial All-Star PG Chris Paul: “We only ask Chris to guard the best point guard, score, assist and get 100 steals a game. We were thinking about putting him on (F LaMarcus) Aldridge tonight, but we’re not going to do it.”