Los Angeles Clippers take full control in Game 1 against Portland Trail Blazers

Los Angeles had it’s way with the visiting Trail Blazers on Sunday night at Staples Center.

It wasn’t going to necessarily be easy, but the Los Angeles Clippers were able to team up for a crucial Game 1 win over the Trail Blazers to open their best-of-seven first round series.

Coming into the game, it seemed as though Portland might live up to the hype of being one of the sleeper teams in the Western Conference, but their first playoff impression wasn’t as good as advertised.

Throughout the game, the biggest thing that the Clippers were able to do was find a way to effectively chip away at the Trail Blazers’ confidence throughout.

Taking the game one quarter at a time proved to be a healthy strategy for Los Angeles, as Blake Griffin is still trying to find his place with the team.

Griffin was the second-best scorer on Sunday night with 19 points, with Chris Paul leading the team with 28 of his own.

JJ Redick dropped 17 points but did little more than that after dealing with an injury earlier in the week.

Off the bench, Jamal Crawford and Austin Rivers pitched in 13 and 11 points, respectively, giving Los Angeles some much-needed insurance from players not normally in the starting lineup.

For Portland, Damian Lillard‘s 21 points was not enough, as the second-best scorer for the Trail Blazers came courtesy of a surprise performance by reserve Gerald Henderson.

Winning the first game of the series gives the Clippers just a little bit of breathing room moving forward. It may not be much, but it is much better than being down early because it diminishes the value of home court advantage that teams desperately fight for throughout the season.

Los Angeles only hopes that them earning it again this season will pay dividends.

The Trail Blazers can still make things interesting with a win in Game 2, but the Clippers seem to know where to put pressure on Portland at the right time to escape with a win.

Sunday’s game ended on a 20-point differential, but with a series like this it’s not likely we’ll see more of those kinds of margins of victory.

Both Los Angeles and Portland are good at getting buckets late in games, thanks in large part to their ability to hit shots from beyond the arc.

What’s going to be worth watching is when this series shifts away from Staples Center and how the Clippers can really handle being on the road against a worthwhile team.

Instead of looking at how Los Angeles does in their home games, especially this early in the postseason, their efforts away from home will play a large role in determining just how far this team can go.

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Because rest assured the Trail Blazers aren’t giving up anytime soon.