Inspired by Luke Skywalker taking down an Imperial Death Star with a single X-wing, the Portland Trail Blazers decided to try it with half a banana stand tonight, coming up against the Los Angeles Clippers with no defense, suspect rebounding, and a perilous addiction to turnovers. The Clippers, probably still smarting from the recent debacle in Dallas, treated Portland to a massive 128-105 loss. Kawhi Leonard returned from a face injury to score 28. Carmelo Anthony scored 15 off the bench for the Blazers. CJ McCollum had 25, Damian Lillard 20.
The Blazers started by making a concerted effort to get Jusuf Nurkic involved early.