NBA: Paul George helps Clippers maintain mastery of Blazers

Paul George scored 27 points and Kawhi Leonard added 24 as the Los Angeles Clippers notched a 116-103 victory over the host Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night in the first contest of a two-game set.

James Harden had 19 points and 14 assists as the Clippers (43-25) defeated the Trail Blazers for the third straight time this season and eighth in a row overall.

Ivica Zubac registered 14 points and nine rebounds, Amir Coffey scored 11 points and Daniel Theis had 10 points for Los Angeles, which had lost four of its previous five games.

Scoot Henderson scored 18 points and rookie Kris Murray added a career-high 17 points for Portland (19-50), which took its fourth loss in a row. Anfernee Simons had 14 points and Jabari Walker and Dalano Banton scored 12 points apiece.

Deandre Ayton had just eight points and seven rebounds after recording eight double-doubles over his previous nine appearances.

The teams meet again Friday in Portland.

The Trail Blazers’ Jerami Grant (hamstring) sat out for the seventh time in the past eight games.

Los Angeles shot 52.3 percent from the field, including 13 of 31 (41.9 percent) from behind the arc.

The Trail Blazers connected on 48.1 percent of their attempts and were 15 of 34 (44.1 percent) from 3-point range.

Leonard scored 17 points in the third quarter as Los Angeles turned a 10-point halftime advantage into a 94-70 lead.

Leonard had three straight hoops and nine total points during an 11-0 surge that saw the Clippers establish a 77-58 lead with 5:44 left in the period.

Coffey buried a 3-pointer to push Los Angeles’ lead to 84-60 with 4:18 remaining in the quarter.

George opened the final period with a trey to give the Clippers a 97-70 lead, and the visitors cruised to the finish line.

Harden recorded 17 points and seven assists in the first half as the Clippers led 60-50 at the break. Murray had 15 points in the half for Portland.

Harden made two treys during a 10-0 burst as Los Angeles opened up a 51-35 lead in the second quarter. The Trail Blazers responded with an 11-2 push and Simons culminated it with a 3-pointer to move Portland within 53-46 with 2:03 left in the half.

–Field Level Media/Reuters