By ERIK GARCÍA GUNDERSEN The Associated Press
PORTLAND, Ore. — Three future Hall of Famers versus a rebuilding franchise was never likely to be a fair fight.
Paul George scored 27 points, Kawhi Leonard had 24 points and James Harden had 19 points and 14 assists as the Clippers beat the Portland Trail Blazers, 116-103, on Wednesday night.
The victory gave the Clippers a one-game lead over the New Orleans Pelicans in the tight race for the fourth seed in the Western Conference playoff picture.
Scoot Henderson had 18 points and five assists for Portland and fellow rookie Kris Murray had a season-high 17 points.
The teams meet again Friday night in Portland to complete a two-game set.
The Clippers used a 34-point third quarter, which included 17 from Leonard, to put the game out of reach.
After leading 60-50 at halftime, the Clippers took things into overdrive. Portland cut the Clippers’ lead to eight multiple times early in the third quarter before the Clippers pushed the lead to 72-58, forcing a Blazers timeout.
Portland turned the ball over after the timeout on back-to-back possessions, including a 3-point play from Leonard, pushing the lead to 77-58.
Amir Coffey’s 3-pointer pushed the lead to 84-60, forcing another Portland timeout.
The Clippers, whose largest lead was 27, outscored the Trail Blazers 34-20 in the third quarter.
The Clippers jumped out to a 47-35 lead midway through the second quarter. Harden hit back-to-back 3-pointers to force a Blazers timeout with 6:04 left in the half.
More to come on this story.
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