Overview
- Tipoff is 6 p.m. PT Sunday at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood with both teams entering 1-1.
- Portland’s first game under Splitter was a 139-119 win over Golden State, led by Deni Avdija’s 26 points and six assists and Jerami Grant’s 22 off the bench, with the Blazers forcing 25 turnovers and dominating points in the paint 66-30.
- The Clippers responded to an opening loss in Utah by routing Phoenix 129-102, as James Harden scored 30 and Kawhi Leonard 27, and Los Angeles hit 16 of 29 from three with Derrick Jones Jr. perfect on five attempts.
- Injury reports list Scoot Henderson, Damian Lillard and Robert Williams III out for Portland, while Bradley Beal is day-to-day for the Clippers and Jordan Miller is out.
- Los Angeles enters with high-profile additions reported this offseason—Bradley Beal, Chris Paul, Brook Lopez and John Collins—prompting age and durability questions, while Portland leans on pace and bench production highlighted by Grant’s early scoring surge.