Los Angeles, CA (Sports Network) - Brandon Roy filled the stat sheet with 22 points and 10 rebounds, as Portland won its second straight to start the season, downing the Los Angeles Clippers, 98-88.
LaMarcus Aldridge added 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Marcus Camby became the third Portland player with a double-double, posting 11 points and 14 rebounds. Nicolas Batum donated 15 points and six boards for Portland, which was coming off a 106-92 victory over Phoenix on Tuesday night.
Eric Gordon scored 22 points and Blake Griffin added 20 points and 14 rebounds in defeat. Griffin's 14 rebounds set the Clippers rookie record in a season debut. The Oklahoma standout suffered a broken kneecap during the preseason a year ago and the top overall pick in the 2009 draft never saw the floor for the remainder of the season.
Rasual Butler added 16 points for the Clippers, who brought in new head coach Vinny Del Negro to instill a winning culture. The Clippers have finished with a .500 record or better just three times since the 1991-92 season and haven't reached the postseason since 2005-06.
Portland scored seven straight points late in the first stanza to create some breathing room. A three-pointer by Rudy Fernandez punctuated the stretch for a 24-16 advantage.
Trailing 31-23 after one quarter, the Clippers edged close before finally taking the lead at 41-40 on Gordon's slam in transition. Butler capped eight successive points with a trey for a four-point edge, but Portland answered with nine straight of its own to take a 49-44 lead on Roy's mid-range bucket.
Roy's three-pointer just before the first-half horn pushed Portland's lead to 54-49. The Clippers trailed by as many as nine in the third quarter, but took the lead late on two Jarron Collins free throws for a 71-70 edge.
An 80-80 tie with just over seven minutes remaining turned into a double-digit margin thanks to 11 straight points for the visitors. Batum's driving layup and Aldridge's straight-on trey were the two killer shots in the spurt.
The Trail Blazers rolled to victory from there.
Game Notes
Portland has won 10 of the last 12 meetings between the two teams...The Clippers fell to 18-23 all-time in season openers...Trail Blazers head coach Nate McMillan won his 200th career game in Portland.