Worst Clippers Top First Blazers

In another stunning upset victory for NBA's worst team, Maurice Taylor scored 14 straight points for the Clippers in the fourth quarter and Los Angeles won for just the fifth time this season, beating the league-leading Portland Trail Blazers 89-83 Sunday night.

The victory, the Clippers' fourth against teams assured of playoff berths, came one night after they lost at home by 27 points to the Blazers.

"We're shocked," said the Blazers' Isaiah Rider. "We just lost to one of the teams at the bottom of the league. We're not supposed to lose to them. We just didn't play well. Yeah, we turned it over, yeah, we fouled a lot. Taylor got hot. We didn't execute."

Portland, which didn't score in the last 2:27, was led by Rider's 17 points. Rasheed Wallace added 16 points.

The Clippers hadn't won in Portland since 1993, losing 13 straight.

This was the Clippers' second victory over one of the league's elite. They hammered the Utah Jazz by 26 points on March 27.

"This is two good wins under our belt," Clippers coach Chris Ford said. "We beat Utah when they had the best record in the league, and now we've beaten Portland with the best record in the league."

Los Angeles, which trailed by nine points early in the fourth, went ahead 85-83 with 1:01 to go on Rodney Rogers' tip-in. They padded the lead to 87-83 when Sherman Douglas sank two free throws with 30.6 seconds left after a Portland turnover, and Tyrone Nesby added two free throws for the final score.

Taylor had all of the Clippers' 14 points during a six-minute stretch of the fourth.

"The guards were giving me the ball in positions where I could score," Taylor said. "I scored a couple in the box and they starting coming to me a lot more. There were some fouls and some easy baskets helped me, too."

Sherman Douglas, who aded 19 points, tied the score at 83-83 on a goaltending basket with 1:24 left in the game.

The Blazers played without leading rebounder Brian Grant and got only 20 minutes out of Arvydas Sabonis, who fouled out with 4:34 left in the game.

"You've got to find a way to win these games," Blazers coach Mike Dunleavy said. "This was probably the first night in a while when we didn't get the stops down the stretch. Usually our depth allows us to wear down an opponent. Tonight we got worn down."

The Clippers' rally started with the Blazers leading 76-67 after a Wallace basket with 7:50 left in the fourth. Taylor went on a scoring binge, capping a 10-2 Clippers run with two free throws that cut Portland's lead to 78-77 with four minutes to go.

The Blazers responded with a basket by Rider and a 3-pointer by Walt Williams for an 83-77 lead with 2:27 remaining. But the Blazers never scored again.

Taylor made four more free throws and Douglas scored on a drive after Kelvin Cato was called for goaltending. That tied the score and Rogers followed Douglas' missed layup with a tip-in to give the Clippers their first lead of the second half.

"But it was a team win because we played together," Taylor said. "I don't think offense was where we won it. We won it more on the defensive end. We had to get some stops and some rebounds and we did."

Leading by two at halftime, the Blazers went on a 9-2 run during a five-minute stretch that gave them a 59-51 lead with 4:30 left in the third quarter. Rider had four points during the spurt and eight in the third, which ended with Portland despite making only 5 of 19 from the floor leading 65-60.

In the first half, the Clippers had four turnovers and 12 for the game, compared to the 31 the night before.

The Blazers led 46-44 at the break behind 10 points each by Sabonis and Damon Stoudamire. Sherman Douglas scored all of his nine first-half points in the first quarter, while Lamond Murray came off the bench to score nine in the second quarter.

Notes: Grant missed his second game because of a bruised left knee. He is day-to-day.... The Blazers made only 12 of 37 field goal attempts in the second half.... Rookie Tyrone Nesby had his first double-double, totaling 12 points and 12 rebounds.... Douglas' 19 points was his season high. He was signed by the Clippers as a free agent on Feb. 4.

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