In NBA Playoffs, Game Two of the Western Conference Quarter-Final series between the LA Clippers and Portland Trail Blazers took place. The fourth seeded Clips won the opener in a blowout, and were looking to keep their momentum going as the teams met again at the Staples Center.
The hopes of the visitors from Rip City rise and fall with the play of their guards, but LA's Chris Paul would serve up a reminder why he's one of the best floor generals in basketball.
Fans in the City of Angels excited about the prospect of CP3 lobbing the rock to his big men.
But first they would watch him find JJ Redick for a wide open trey, and the Duke graduate is on his way to 17 points.
Austin Rivers later loses the ball to another Duke alum. Mason Plumlee with the heist, the hoop, and the harm. He would finish with 17 and 10.
Since we're mentioning colleges, Paul is a Wake Forest man, and the ex-Demon Deacon dekes Portland's defense for the lay-up, causing their coach Terry Stotts to take on a somewhat demonic look on the sideline. CP3 on his way to a game-high 25 points.
But Portland fights back as Damian Lillard drives the lane for the left-handed jam, en route to a 17-point night.
Later in the third quarter, Lillard's backcourt mate CJ McCollum strikes from beyond the arc to cut the deficit to just three, and Clippers coach Doc Rivers wants a time-out to settle his team down.
They respond by looking to go inside more, and when Paul misses the teardrop, DeAndre Jordan is there for the putback, off one of his 18 rebounds.
With the Blazers all over Paul in the fourth Q, he finds Blake Griffin for the dunk as the Clips begin to pull away, and take a 2-ZIP lead in the series.
L.A. Clippers 102 - Portland 81
Elsewhere on Wednesday, LeBron James scored 27 points and the top team in the East, Cleveland, tied the NBA Playoff record by hitting 20 three-pointers in their game against Detroit, on the way to grabbing a 2-nothing lead in that series.
And LBJ's old pal Dwyane Wade poured in 28 points, as third seeded Miami outlasted Charlotte to take a 2-0 edge in the night's other Eastern showdown.
