The Portland Trail Blazers are headed back to the second round of the NBA playoffs for the second time since 2014 after staving off a late 8-2 run by the Los Angeles Clippers to capture a 106-103 win at the Moda Center Friday night. According to Trail Blazers PR on Twitter, Friday marked the first time since the 1977 NBA Finals that Portland won four consecutive playoff games in a single series. Additionally, Elias Sports (via Blazers PR) noted the Blazers became the second team in NBA history to lose their first two games by 20-plus points and still capture a series victory.The real story, though, was the fight L.A. demonstrated despite playing without Chris Paul (hand) and Blake Griffin (quad).While it would have been easy for the Clippers to fold in a hostile environment, they battled until the very last second behind a postseason career-high 32 points (10-of-25 shooting) from Jamal Crawford.Austin Rivers was particularly sensational as he sought to keep the Clippers afloat.After receiving 11 stitches over his left eye in the first half, Rivers returned to the floor and finished with 21 points, eight assists and six rebounds in a tremendous display of heart, according to The Ringer's Bill Simmons: But ultimately, the Clippers didn't have enough juice to keep pace with the Blazers' more balanced attack.Damian Lillard (28 points) and C.J. McCollum (20 points) both put forth strong efforts in the series clincher, while Moe Harkless dropped 14 points to finish in double-figures for the fifth straight game to match a season high, according to Blazers PR. Al-Farouq Aminu (10 points, six rebounds), Allen Crabbe (13 points) and Mason Plumlee (nine points, 14 rebounds, four assists) also proved to be integral contributors.Despite lacking the depth necessary to force a Game 7, the Clippers did everything in their power to remain competitive with their season on the line.And for a team that got out-rebounded 15-5 on the offensive glass in the first half, the Clippers did a surprisingly good job of hanging around.The reason why' That would be Crawford.The three-time Sixth Man of the Year Award winner went ballistic to the tune of 22 points in the first half as he accounted for nearly 46 percent of L.A.'s offensive production over that span.While no other Clippers player scored in double-figures throughout the game's first 24 minutes, head coach Doc Rivers had his team playing a strong brand of ball on the road, as ESPN.com's Arash Markazi observed:However, the Blazers recovered from a first half marred by shaky shooting by blitzing the Clippers from beyond the arc.Led by an uncharacteristic three-point barrage from Harklesswho was a 27.9 percent shooter from three during the regular seasonthe Blazers drilled six threes over the first seven minutes of the third quarter to create a bit of breathing room. But just when it looked like the Blazers were poised to pull away, Rivers started to heat up and closed the gap despite playing with just one good eye.Rivers went on to score 14 points in the third frame, and the heroic performance created somewhat of a narrative shift given the injury troubles L.A. had encountered throughout the series, per CBS Sports' Matt Moore:Unfortunately for the Clippers, their other scorers couldn't match Rivers' consistency down the stretch. Crawford went cold after halftime, Jeff Green couldn't knock down jumpers off the dribble, and L.A. had nothing in the way of a true post-up threat with Jordan and Cole Aldrich largely neutralized.And just as the Clippers cooled down, the Blazers found some sources of offensive fluidity. Portland went on to establish a six-point lead midway through the fourth quarter, and that run coincided with a stretch that saw the Clippers go scoreless for more than two minutes.Doc Rivers' club has nothing to be ashamed of, though, and the Washington Post's Tim Bontemps echoed that sentiment as time ticked down:Despite missing Paul and Griffin, the Clippers put up a fight that their two stars would have been proud to be a part of.However, silver linings aren't going to cut it for a Clippers team that has now failed to qualify for the Western Conference finals in each of the past five seasons.While it's too early to speculate about potential roster shakeups, Los Angeles will need to ponder tweaks it can make in order to break through and finally live up to its tremendous potential.The Blazers, meanwhile, are headed back to the second round of the playoffs after entering the season perceived almost unanimously as Western Conference afterthoughts.Now, the task ahead is daunting, but as Moore opined, perhaps the Blazers will be able to continue their season-long trend of shocking observers when they square off against the Golden State Warriors:It should be noted that Portland crushed a full-strength Golden State squad by 32 points at theModa Center in February, so there is some precedent for an upset.But even with Stephen Curry (knee) hobbled and lacking a definitive return date entering Round 2, the Blazers will be massive underdogs when the action gets going Sunday at Oracle Arena.
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