Trail Blazers vs Clippers Odds and Picks
- The Los Angeles Clippers are 3.5-point favorites over the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night in their game at the Staples Center
- The Clippers beat the Minnesota Timberwolves by 23 points on Tuesday night, two days after losing by 51 to the Dallas Mavericks
- See analysis, odds and our best bet on Wednesday’s game below
After getting back on track Tuesday following an ugly loss, the Los Angeles Clippers will try to notch wins on back-to-back nights when they host the Portland Trail Blazers at 10 p.m. ET Wednesday at the Staples Center.
The Clippers rolled to a 124-101 victory at home over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night at 10.5-point favorites. That came just two days after the Clippers were blown out by 51 points on their home court by the Dallas Mavericks.
Los Angeles is now 3-1 overall against the spread while the Trail Blazers are 2-1 straight up and 1-2 ATS.
Portland is coming off a 115-107 upset of the Lakers at the Staples Center on Monday night as 6.5-point underdogs but are dogs again in this matchup.
Trail Blazers vs Clippers Odds
| Team | Moneyline | Spread | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portland Trail Blazers | +3.5 (-110) | +136 | Over 229 (-110) |
| Los Angeles Clippers | -3.5 (-110) | -162 | Under 229 (-110) |
Odds taken Dec. 30 from FanDuel
Clippers Bounce Back
The Clippers won by 23 points over the Timberwolves despite missing star Kawhi Leonard.
Leonard sat out a second straight game with a mouth contusion. He needed eight stitches to close a cut in his mouth suffered on Christmas when inadvertently elbowed by teammate Serge Ibaka in a game against the Denver Nuggets.
This had to hurt…
Kawhi Leonard takes a nasty elbow to the mouth from Clippers teammate Serge Ibaka. 😱https://t.co/Did2RcMEox
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) December 26, 2020
Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said Tuesday he did not know when Leonard is getting his stiches removed and classified his status as “day-to-day.”
Sans Leonard, the Clippers still burst to a 70-50 halftime lead against the Timberwolves. That was quite a difference from Sunday, when Los Angeles trailed the Mavericks 77-27 at the break, the 50 points being the largest halftime deficit in NBA history.
Lou Williams scored a team-high 20 points on Tuesday and was one of seven Clippers in double figures. He was joined by Paul George (18), Ibaka (16), Luke Kennard (15), Patrick Beverley (12), Ivica Zubac (12) and Reggie Jackson (11).
Bounce back W.
📼 @honey Highlights vs. T'Wolves pic.twitter.com/ogkFUFAQVj
— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) December 30, 2020
The Clippers made 16 of 31 shots (51.6%) from 3-point range and had 32 assists on their 47 field goals. Against the Mavericks, Los Angeles was 4 for 33 (12.1%) from beyond the arc and had assists on just 13 of their 26 buckets.
A Good Win in LA
While the Clippers played poorly at the Staples Center on Sunday afternoon, the Trail Blazers played outstanding in the same building the next night against the Lakers.
Sometimes Mondays are good! @McDonalds Game Highlights 🎥 pic.twitter.com/ch8JWrmzDb
— Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) December 29, 2020
Damian Lillard topped Portland with 31 points after scoring 32 a night earlier in an overtime victory over the Houston Rockets. He struggled in the opener with just nine points in a win against the Utah Jazz last Wednesday.
Gary Trent Jr. had a quite a bounce back game as he made seven 3-pointers to tie a career high while scoring 28 points. That came after he was limited to just six minutes and failed to score against the Rockets.
Against the Lakers, Trent was 7 for 11 from beyond the arc and 11 for 14 overall. However, he strained a calf late in the game and is questionable for Wednesday.
Gary Trent Jr. is unconscious 😱
Knocks down his 7th three of the game pic.twitter.com/j3puoKZdDW
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 29, 2020
C.J. McCollum had 20 points despite shooting just 7 for 22 and dished out 11 rebounds. He has scored at least 20 points in all three games.
Injury Report
Veteran Trail Blazers forward Carmelo Anthony is expected to play after sitting out Sunday because of COVID-19 contact tracing. He scored 20 points in the first two games.
Perhaps not having the 36-year-old Anthony made coaching easier for Terry Stotts.
As important as depth is this season, Carmelo Anthony's absence has highlighted that the Blazers have too many players who expect rotation minutes. The distribution of playing time has made much more sense without him available tonight.
— Kevin Pelton (@kpelton) December 29, 2020
Marcus Morris has yet to see action for the Clippers this season because of a knee injury. The nine-year veteran averaged 10.1 points in 19 games last season.
All Clippers Last Season
Last season, the Clippers swept all three games from the Trail Blazers and were also the winning side against the spread each time.
In the last matchup on Aug. 8 in the bubble at Walt Disney World, the Clippers won 122-117 as 4.5-point underdogs.
George led Los Angeles with 21 points and Jackson added 17. McCollum (29), Lillard (22), Anthony (21) and Trent (21) combined for 93 of Portland’s points.
After shaking the effects of an embarrassing loss, look for the Clippers to continue their recent history of success against the Trail Blazers.
Pick: Clippers -3.5 (-110)
John Perrotto has been covering and writing about sports for various outlets for over 40 years. His work has appeared in the likes of USA TODAY, ESPN.com, SI.com, Forbes.com, The Associated Press, Baseball Digest, and more. John is based out of Beaver Falls, PA.
