The Los Angeles Clippers will put their eight-game home winning streak on the line when they face the road-weary Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday in the finale of NBA Cup group play in Inglewood, California.
Neither team enters the night eliminated from advancing to the knockout round of the tournament, but each would be out with a loss. The winner would still need help in multiple scenarios to move on as a wild-card team.
The Clippers dropped their first four home games of the season at their new $2 billion arena, but since breaking through on November 4, they have not lost there.
Los Angeles’ most recent home success came on Sunday in a 126-122 victory over the Denver Nuggets, with James Harden producing 39 points, 11 assists, and nine rebounds.
Harden became the second player in NBA history to make 3,000 baskets from beyond the arc. The milestone came as he went 6 of 15 from long distance.
Harden is shooting 44.7 percent from the floor over his most recent four games, an improvement from his 38.5 percent mark on the season.
The Clippers’ victory also marked the return of Norman Powell from a hamstring strain after a six-game absence. The shooting guard scored 28 points, boosting his team-leading average to 23.6 points per game.
Ivica Zubac leads the Clippers with 12.4 rebounds per game, having hauled in eight against the Nuggets.
The Trail Blazers are coming off a 137-131 home loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday. Anfernee Simons scored 27 points for Portland, while Shaedon Sharpe added 22. Simons was 9 of 11 from the floor and 6 of 8 from three-point range.
Portland’s defense allowed Dallas to score at least 36 points in each of the last three quarters. The Blazers managed to shoot 58.1 percent from three-point range (18 of 31) but committed 21 turnovers that the Mavericks converted into 33 points.
In the first half, Simons scored just three points, but he had 24 in the third quarter alone after going 5-of-6 from three-point range in the period.
Portland’s road woes have dragged on for nearly a month. The Blazers lost four of five games on a road trip that ended the day before Thanksgiving and have dropped six of their past seven games away from Portland since November 7.
