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Deandre Ayton's late basket pushes the Blazers past the Clippers

Oct. 30, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Clippers forward Kai Jones (23) gets past Portland Trail Blazers center Donovan Clingan (23) for a dunk during the first half at the Intuit Dome. Mandatory attribution: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Anfernee Simons scored 25 points and Deandre Ayton added 15 points and 12 rebounds as the visiting Portland Trail Blazers earned a 106-105 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday in Inglewood, Calif.

Scoot Henderson had 14 points while Deni Avdija had 13 points and 10 rebounds as the Blazers won for the second time in their last three games and earned their first road win in two tries.

Ayton scored the go-ahead shot at the basket with 1:38 left with a jump hook in traffic off an offensive rebound. The Clippers failed to tie or take the lead on their final four possessions of the game.

Los Angeles' Norman Powell scored 30 points and James Harden added 19 points with 10 assists. Ivica Zubac had 12 rebounds but was held to six points after averaging 22.7 points in the first three games of the season.

Kevin Porter Jr. scored 10 points for Los Angeles, which fell to 0-2 at the new $2 billion Intuit Dome.

The Clippers gained a 10-point lead after 7:25 minutes and were ahead 26:24 after one quarter. The Trail Blazers jumped out to a 54-43 lead with 1:29 left in the first half before the Clippers closed the first half with a 7-0 run and trailed 54-50.

Los Angeles led 84-75 with 1:56 left in the third quarter, but Portland cut the deficit to 85-82 with five consecutive points from Henderson early in the final period.

The Trail Blazers evened the score at 92-92 thanks to a 3-pointer from 7-foot-2 freshman Donovan Clingan, the first long-range basket of the first-round draft pick's young career. With 5:03 left, the 7-foot Ayton hit a 3-pointer to bring Portland within 97-98.

After Ayton's late go-ahead shot, the Clippers had several chances to take the lead, but Zubac missed two free throws with 1:20 left, Amir Coffey missed a 3-point attempt with 47 seconds left and Powell had a layup blocked by Deni Avdija's 29 Seconds before the end.

The Clippers had one last chance, but Harden's incoming pass was stolen by Ayton with one second left.

–Field level media

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