PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – Damian Lillard scored 28 points and the Portland Trail Blazers advanced to the Western Conference semifinals by holding off the resilient Los Angeles Clippers 106-103 on Friday night to claim the first-round playoff series 4-2.
Portland will open the series against the reigning NBA champion Golden State Warriors on Sunday.
CJ McCollum added 20 points for the Blazers, who became the first team to overcome a 2-0 deficit since Memphis came back against the Clippers in the first round in 2013.
Jamal Crawford had 32 points and Austin Rivers added 21 points and eight assists despite having 11 stitches above his left eye from a collision in the first quarter. But the Clippers could not recover from injuries to Chris Paul and Blake Griffin in Game 4 of the series.
Los Angeles didn’t surrender easily in the final game, never allowing Portland a double-digit lead.