Clippers vs. Portland Trail Blazers preview

The Clippers are set to play the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night, their first away game following a nine-game homestand.

The Clippers went 6-3 during their stint at Staples Center, getting impressive wins, such as a 120-100 victory over the Dallas Mavericks, but also suffering some unexpected losses, including a 104-90 defeat at the hands of the Miami Heat.

The Clippers (25-13) are in sixth place in the Western Conference, five games behind the second-place Trail Blazers (30-8).

Portland has won four games in a row and is only 1 1/2 games behind the first-place Golden State Warriors. In each of those victories, the Trail Blazers have held their opponents to under 100 points and have won by an average margin of 10.7 points.

“They shoot the three extremely well, they share the ball, those guys know their roles,” the Clippers’ Chris Paul said, adding, “LaMarcus [Aldridge] is unbelievable, one of the best power forwards in our league.”

The Clippers have lost five road games in a row, and have a record of 8-7 in away games.

“It’s real tough to beat them in Portland, but we’re going to go there and try to get a win,” Paul said.

When the teams played on Nov. 8, the Clippers won, 106-102. In that game, J.J. Redick had 30 points on extremely efficient 11-for-13 shooting from the field. It was the first game that his son saw him play live.