The Trail Blazers outlast the Clippers as Ayton grabs the victory in the final seconds

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Portland Trail Blazers center Deandre Ayton intercepted an inbound pass from LA Clippers guard James Harden to Ivica Zubac with less than three seconds left to give the Blazers a 106-105 win on Wednesday night at the Intuit Dome -Victory.

The Blazers then ran out the final second of time after Ayton was fouled.

The game capped off turbulent action down the stretch, highlighted by Blazers guards Anfernee Simons and Harden going back and forth for points several times in the final minutes of the game.

Simons led the Blazers with 25 points. Ayton scored 15 with 12 rebounds. Harden scored 19 points and had 10 assists for the Clippers, who got a game-high 30 points from Norman Powell.

The Blazers started the game sloppy, shooting poorly and trailing by as many as 10 points in the first quarter.

This trend changed suddenly. The Blazers trailed just 26-24 at the end of the first quarter and then made nine of their first 14 field goal attempts in the second quarter to take a 44-38 lead. The Blazers led by as many as 11 points in the quarter, but the Clippers only trailed 54-50 at halftime.

“I thought we just stuck together great,” Blazers coach Chauncey Billups said. “We knew that in this game everyone would be playing on the road and against one of the best defensive teams in the league. And they play with the level of physicality that we try to play with.”

WHAT IT MEANS

The Blazers (2-3) earned a big win over the Clippers (2-2) with a tough schedule ahead.

The Blazers face the difficult task of returning home to host the Oklahoma City Thunder (4-0) on Friday and then traveling to the Phoenix Suns (3-1) for four games starting Saturday.

FORMER BLAZERS SHINE

Powell and Derrick Jones Jr. were role players during their brief stays in Portland, but they were significant players on Wednesday night.

Both started and combined for 39 points with 13 rebounds.

Powell led the Clippers with 30 points and five rebounds. He shot 11 of 22 from the field and made 5 of 10 three-pointers.

Jones added eight rebounds to his nine points and had a steal and a blocked shot.

Next

The Blazers host the Thunder at Moda Center on Friday at 7 p.m. before embarking on a four-game road trip.