Final Score: Portland 90, LA Clippers 86

Portland, OR (Sports Network) - Damon Stoudamire scored 18 of his 22 points in the second-half as Portland rallied for a 90-86 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers at the Rose Garden.

Ruben Patterson added 17 points and Zach Randolph and Joel Przybilla each recorded double-doubles for the Blazers, who trailed by as many as 12 points in the third quarter. Randolph finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while Przybilla had 10 points and pulled down a game-high 14 boards.

Elton Brand racked up 26 points and 12 rebounds for the Clippers, which had a two-game win streak snapped and continued to struggle in the Rose Garden. Los Angeles has lost 12 straight in Portland since a victory on April 11, 1999.

Portland had lost seven of eight coming in and played without two key players in Darius Miles and Derek Anderson. Miles was beginning a team-issued two-game suspension after an argument with head coach Maurice Cheeks during a recent film session, while Anderson sat out his third consecutive game with a dental problem.

"I wanted that one more than normal," Cheeks remarked. "They had to dig down and find something inside them to win that game."

Los Angeles led 56-44 after Brand scored with 7:31 remaining in the third quarter and was ahead 62-52 late in the period before the Trail Blazers began their comeback. Portland reeled off six straight points to cut the deficit to four and Stoudamire ended the quarter with a long three-pointer which brought the hosts within 66-63.

A dunk by Przybilla to start the fourth made it a one-point contest and after Brand made one-of-two foul shots, Stoudamire drained another long-distance shot to give the Blazers a 68-67 edge with 10:45 to play. It was Portland's first lead since 2-0 in the opening stages.

The game remained tight and was deadlocked at 75-75 midway through the fourth quarter before Nick Van Exel sparked a 10-2 Blazer run with a jumper at the 5:50 mark. Back-to-back buckets by Patterson put Portland ahead comfortably, 85-77, with under two minutes to go.

"Disappointing loss for us," said Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy. "I thought we did a lot of good things, but we missed a ton of open shots."

The Clippers were up 22-17 after one quarter and put together a 7-2 run to build a double-digit lead in the second. Marko Jaric began the spurt with a three-point play and ended it with a fast-break basket off a Portland turnover which put Los Angeles ahead 35-24 with seven minutes remaining before intermission.

The Blazers closed the gap to six points heading into the final two minutes of the half when Stoudamire's driving layup made the score 42-36. It remained a six-point game until Zeljko Rebraca hit a short jumper in the closing seconds to give the Clippers a 48-40 advantage at the break.

"I don't think we lost the game in the second half," said Los Angeles guard Rick Brunson. "In the first half we missed a lot of easy shots. We should have been up 16-18 points (at halftime)."

LA's Quinton Ross netted five points during a 10-2 first-quarter flurry which turned a one-point deficit into a 19-12 lead late in the frame. Portland would shoot just 29 percent (7-of-24) from the field in the opening period.

Game Notes

The Clippers activated forward Chris Wilcox from the injured list prior to the game but he did not see any action...Los Angeles guard Kerry Kittles did not play due a strained groin while teammate Lionel Chambers missed for personal reasons...The home team has won the last nine games and 17 of the last 19 in the series.

01/29 02:03:24 ET