Some faces may have changed, but the tense atmosphere between the two sides will still be present Thursday night when the Portland Trail Blazers (3-1) welcome the LA Clippers (3-0) to Moda Center for their first meeting of the 2016-17 season. Portland hasn't beat LA in the regular season since November 2015, but the Trail Blazers notable beat the higher-seeded Clippers, 4-2, to advance to the second round of the playoffs in 2016.
The Blazers enter Thursday's matchup following a bounceback 103-93 win in Tuesday's home opener against the New Orleans Pelicans. CJ McCollum scored 16 of his team-high 23 points in the fourth quarter to lead Portland to its NBA-record 17th consecutive win in a home opener.