Batum Rallies Blazers Past Clippers In OT, 98-93

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Nicolas Batum hit a 3-pointer that forced overtime, then set up three alley-oop baskets and added a clinching 3 in the final minute to rally the Portland Trail Blazers past the Los Angeles Clippers 98-93 on Wednesday night.

LaMarcus Aldridge had 29 points and Batum added 20 for the Northwest Division leaders, who have won four straight after a 6-11 stretch that began with a 100-94 loss to the Clippers on Jan. 14 at Portland.

The Blazers trailed by 10 with 2:40 remaining in the fourth quarter. Batum tied it at 87 on a 3 with 25.1 seconds left.

Damian Lillard was 1 for 13 from the field, finishing with five points, five turnovers and a career-high 18 rebounds in 43 minutes. The third-year guard missed his first 12 shots before making a layup off a lob pass from Batum to give the Blazers a 91-89 edge with 3:04 left in overtime.

Lillard has played 223 regular-season games in the NBA and 11 more in the playoffs, and he's never gone through an entire one without a field goal. The two-time All-Star was a career-worst 1 for 16 at Orlando on Feb. 10, 2013.

Chris Paul had 36 points and 12 assists for the Clippers, who played short-handed again without Blake Griffin (right elbow), Jamal Crawford (bruised calf) and Matt Barnes (right hamstring strain). J.J. Redick scored 26 and DeAndre Jordan grabbed 19 rebounds.

Paul scored eight points during a 3:33 stretch to help the Clippers take an 83-75 lead with 4:27 to play. The Blazers started fouling Jordan in an attempt to get back in the game, and Jordan missed his next six free throws before coach Doc Rivers took him out of the game for the rest of regulation.

The Blazers narrowed the gap to 85-82 on Batum's two free throws, a 19-footer by Aldridge and a 3-pointer by Wesley Matthews with 1:06 to play. After Batum tied the score at 87, Paul missed a running back shot in the final second of regulation.

Neither team led by more than five until Redick's 3-pointer increased the Clippers' margin to 56-49 with 8:58 left in the third quarter. Paul's 3-pointer gave them their biggest lead, 66-55, with 4:33 left in the period before the Blazers cut it to 68-66 by the end of the third.

Portland outscored Los Angeles 19-3 on second-chance points going into the fourth.

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TIP-INS

Trail Blazers: Lillard averaged 30 points in his previous two games, shooting a combined 21 for 42 against Oklahoma City and Sacramento. ... The Blazers have held an opponent under 100 points a league-leading 38 times in 59 games (31-7). ... The Blazers had lost their previous five road games against the Clippers, including a 106-102 decision on Nov. 8. ... Aldridge averaged 27.2 points in his previous five games against the Clippers, including a 37-point outburst in the last one Jan. 14.

Clippers: Rivers was a teammate of Bo Kimble's with the Clippers and New York Knicks. And on the 25th anniversary of the day Kimble's Loyola Marymount teammate and close friend, Hank Gathers, died of a heart attack during a West Coast Conference Tournament game, Rivers said: "I remember it quite vividly. That was a horrible day. I don't know if there's been anything sadder than that, basketball-wise, because it was so in your face. Being around Bo Kimble and hearing about it from him, you got a different vantage point on it."

UP NEXT

Trail Blazers: Host Dallas on Thursday.

Clippers: At Golden State on Sunday.

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