It went down to the wire, but behind a big effort from their backcourt and some clutch free throws from center Mason Plumlee, the Portland Trail Blazers are moving into Round 2 of the 2016 NBA playoffs.
Damian Lillard put up 28 points, seven assists and five rebounds, C.J. McCollum added 20 and Plumlee made 3-of-4 free throws with just 15 seconds left in the game to edge the Los Angeles Clippers 106-103 in Game 6. It was the fourth consecutive win for Portland, who will now face the reigning champion Golden State Warriors in the next round.
In their second game without All-Stars Chris Paul and Blake Griffin, the Clippers gave it a game effort, but ran out of gas down the stretch. Jamal Crawford was red-hot early, scoring 22 points before the intermission, but the star sixth man struggled from the field in the second half, finishing with 32.
Austin Rivers, who briefly exited the game after an errant elbow split open his eyebrow, was also brilliant for L.A. Paul's replacement, who played with 11 stitches and a swollen left eye for most of the night, had 21 points, eight assists and six rebounds in the loss.
Game 1 between the Blazers and Warriors tips off at Oracle Arena on Sunday, May 1 at 3:30 p.m. ET.
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