Blazers step up at home to take down Clippers

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The Portland Trail Blazers took Game 3 against the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday night, using a late run to earn a 96-88 win. After a couple of subpar performances at Staples Center, Portland desperately needed to start strong. It did, and it finished strong, too.

Five things to know:

1. The Blazers backcourt bounced back. In Los Angeles, C.J. McCollum and Damian Lillard struggled to find their rhythm. Their combined numbers:

Game 1: 30 points, 10-for-28 field goals, 4-for-13 3-point shooting

Game 2: 33 points, 12-for-39 field goals, 2-for-13 3-point shooting

Back home in Portland, they stepped up. Lillard tied his career high with 32 points, shooting 10-for-20 and 3-for-8 from deep. McCollum, fresh off winning Most Improved Player, had 27 points on 11-for-22 shooting, including 2-for-5 on 3-pointers. It was clear early in the game that they would both be as aggressive as possible, and Los Angeles had trouble keeping them out of the paint. Once they started hitting 3-pointers, the Clippers were in trouble.

When Lillard did his postgame TV interview, he was asked to come up with a nickname for the duo.

“We ain’t looking for a nickname,” Lillard said. “We’re just going to come out here every night and just make people respect it. That’s all we need to do. That’s what we’re going to continue to do.”

After what they did in the regular season, everybody should already respect them. It means more to put up those numbers in the playoffs, though, especially in a must-win situation like this. Maybe the Toronto Raptors’ backcourt can learn something from how Lillard and McCollum broke out.

2. Hack-a-DJ is horrible, but it works. The Clippers led 85-84 when DeAndre Jordan was sent to …

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