The Los Angeles Clippers appear to be finally turning the corner after their disastrous start to the 2025-26 season. The Clippers have now recorded their first three-game winning streak of this campaign by taking down the Portland Trail Blazers 119-103 at the Moda Center on Friday.

James Harden led the way for the Clippers with 34 points (10-17 FG), two rebounds, and six assists, but he wasn’t the biggest story of the night. That would be Brook Lopez, who racked up 31 points (9-16 FG), five rebounds, one assist, and two blocks. Lopez went 9-14 from beyond the arc in what was one of the finest shooting displays of this season.

Kawhi Leonard had a fine outing, too, putting up 28 points (7-20 FG), eight rebounds, six assists, three steals, and one block, as the Clippers improved to 9-21. Head coach Tyronn Lue had stated before this win streak that the target was to go 35-20 for the rest of the season. It seemed like a ridiculous goal, but could they actually do it?

As for the Trail Blazers, they were once again led by Deni Avdija, who had 29 points (10-19 FG), nine rebounds, nine assists, and one block. Toumani Camara chipped in with 20 points (6-16 FG) as well in a game where they led by 12 points, but they were unable to hold on and have now lost three in a row to drop to 12-19.

Here’s a look at how the Clippers managed to extend their win streak.

 

A Brook Lopez Explosion

When the Clippers lost Ivica Zubac to a grade 2 left ankle sprain against the Los Angeles Lakers on Dec. 20, they seemed down and out. Zubac had been one of their best players over the last year or so, and having Lopez, who was out of the rotation at one point, filling in for him didn’t seem ideal. The veteran stepped up in a big way here, though.

Lopez set a new career-high by drilling nine threes. He made four of them in the second quarter to help the Clippers get back to within striking distance after going down by double digits. Lopez then hit three more in the third quarter as the visitors were turning the tide. It was his three-pointer with 3:23 left in the quarter that gave the Clippers their first lead of the game.

Lopez has now become the eighth player this season to hit nine or more threes in a game. He is the only center on that list.

 

The Clippers Rain Down Threes Again

The Clippers set a new season-high for threes made in a game with 20 against the Houston Rockets on Tuesday. They then matched that season-high by going 20-40 (50%) from beyond the arc against the Trail Blazers.

While Lopez did most of the damage, Harden chipped in with three of his own, while Leonard and John Collins had two each. You’re not going to lose too many games when you’re just raining down threes like this on the opposition.

The Clippers were one of the best three-point shooting teams in the NBA last season, ranking seventh in the league at 37.3%. That number had gone down to 35.1% in the first 27 games of this season, but it’s now going back up again.

 

The Trail Blazers Go Ice Cold In The Third Quarter

The Trail Blazers had put up 62 points at halftime and appeared to have no trouble scoring against this Clippers defense. They went ice cold when they came out after the break, though.

The Trail Blazers were 5-22 (22.7%) from the field and 3-12 (25.0%) from beyond the arc in the third quarter. They also committed five turnovers, and all of this allowed the Clippers to get on the ascendancy.

Shaedon Sharpe was the biggest culprit here, going 2-9 from the field in the third. Sharpe had 12 points on 5-9 shooting from the field at halftime, so you can understand why he kept shooting, but he needed to realize at some point that he just didn’t have it post the break.

The Trail Blazers as a team missed 23 of their first 31 shots after halftime, and that is a recipe for disaster.

 

The Clippers Cut Down The Turnovers In The Second Half

The Clippers have had trouble holding on to the ball this season, and we saw more of the same in the first half here. They had 10 turnovers at halftime, and they were on pace to have their sixth game of the campaign with at least 20 turnovers. They had lost three of their last four games where they had done that, which wasn’t a surprise.

The Clippers needed to take better care of the ball in the second half to turn this game around, and they did. They only had three turnovers after the break, and that helped them function better on offense and defense. The Trail Blazers were no longer getting easy opportunities off those miscues, as they were in the first half.

If the Clippers can limit their turnovers and hit those threes, they might start climbing up the standings in the coming weeks.