A little home cooking was not the secret elixir for the Portland Trail Blazers.
The Blazers lost 104-100 to the L.A. Clippers Sunday night at the Moda Center, suffering their third consecutive defeat and fifth in the last seven games.
Damian Lillard scored 30 points and the Blazers (12-8) had control throughout the first half. But they lost their mojo -- and their starting center -- in the second half, struggled from three-point range all night and ran out of time down the stretch as the surprising Clippers (12-7) won for the seventh time in the last eight games.
It was the home game since Nov. 11 for the Blazers, who went a pedestrian 2-4 on a six-game Thanksgiving trip.
TOP PERFORMERS
Lillard went 12 of 27 on the way to his 30 points and added six rebounds and four assists. Evan Turner (17 points, five rebounds) and CJ McCollum (18 points, nine rebounds) were the only other Blazers to reach double figures in scoring.
Tobias Harris finished with a career-high tying 34 points and 11 rebounds and Danilo Gallinari added 17 points, eight rebounds and five assists for the Clippers, who equaled their season-series with the Blazers at 1-1.
THIRD TO FORGET
The Blazers were cruising at halftime, punishing the Clippers with interior scoring and flexing a little defensive muscle that had not been seen in nearly a week.
But it all unraveled in a forgettable third quarter. The Clippers outscored the Blazers 38-16 in the momentum-changing quarter as the Blazers' offense went ice cold and their lead dwindled away.
Portland made just 6 of 23 shots, including 1 of 11 three-pointers, as only three Blazers -- Zach Collins, Lillard and McCollum -- scored in the period.
CLIPPERS WIN DOWN STRETCH
The game went down to the wire, with the Blazers erasing a 10-point lead in the final two minutes. But the Clippers made just enough plays down the stretch to win.
After Lillard nailed a three-pointer with 1:53 left, trying the game at 100, the Blazers seemed primed for a last-second win. But Gallinari answered Lillard's shot with a clutch baseline jumper over McCollum with 47 seconds left to give the Clippers a two-point edge.
On the ensuing possession, Al-Farouq Aminu missed an open three and Lillard missed a baseline jumper.
In the closing seconds, the Blazers forced a Lou Williams miss and Turner seemed to be in position for the rebound. But as he tried to gather the loose ball, it ricocheted off Gallinari and bounced away. Patrick Beverley instantly scooped it up and was fouled. He made two free throws with 2.5 seconds left to ice the win.
LINEUP CHANGE
After featuring the same starting lineup for the first 19 games of the season, coach Terry Stotts mixed it up on Sunday, reinstating Moe Harkless as the Blazers' starting small forward.
The move comes four days after Harkless rejoined the rotation after an extended injury absence. After missing 12 games in a row with left knee soreness, Harkless played in the final two games of the Blazers' just-completed six-game trip, recording three points, three rebounds and two steals in 20 minutes.
Harkless wasted little time making an impact against the Clippers, snaring a defensive rebound on the game's opening possession and scoring on back-to-back Blazers possessions early in the first quarter. After completing a spinning reverse layup past Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Harkless finished a fast break with a one-handed dunk to give the Blazers an early 12-5 lead.
Harkless, who is limited to playing 20 minutes, finished with four points and one rebound in 17 minutes.
NURKIC HURTS SHOULDER, SITS 2ND HALF
Starting center Jusuf Nurkic suffered a right shoulder contusion before halftime and did not play in the second half.
It was not immediately clear how Nurkic suffered his injury, but it appeared to happen on defense when he leaped to contest a Clippers shot attempt at the rim. Nurkic played 15 minutes against the Clippers, recording four points, eight rebounds and three assists.
NEXT UP
The Blazers host the Orlando Magic at 7 p.m. Thursday night in the second and final meeting between the teams this season. The Blazers beat the
Joe Freeman | jfreeman@oregonian.com | 503-294-5183 | @BlazerFreeman
