Blazers hand Suns worst loss ever in season opener, 124-76

 Damian Lillard scored 27 points and the Portland Trail Blazers opened the season by handing the Phoenix Suns the most one-sided loss in the franchise's 49-year history, 124-76 on Wednesday night.

Pat Connaughton added a career-high 24 points, making 4 of 6 3-pointers. The Trail Blazers outshot, outrebounded and outhustled the Suns from the opening tip.

The 48-point rout exceeded Phoenix's previous record, a 44-point loss to Seattle (151-107) on April 2, 1988.

The Blazers dominated even though they were without one of their best players, guard C.J. McCollum, who was suspended one game for leaving the bench area during a tussle involving Phoenix's Alex Len and Caleb Swanigan in a preseason game a week ago.

Portland led 60-35 at the half and outscored the Suns 64-41 in the second. The Blazers led by as many as 58, for a time flirting with the most one-sided game in NBA history, a 68-point blowout of the Miami Heat by the Cleveland Cavaliers on Dec. 17, 1991.

The Suns shot 31.5 percent to Portland's 49 percent, made 7 of 27 3-pointers to the Blazers' 14 of 24 and were outrebounded 57-33.

Phoenix had the league's second-worst record last season at 24-58 and looked at least that bad throughout the opener.

Eric Bledsoe scored 15 points on 5-of-18 shooting. Devin Booker added 12 on 6-of-17 shooting. Bledsoe was 1 for 6 on 3s, Booker 0 for 3.

Portland's bench outscored Phoenix's 61-26.

After Booker's 13-footer tied it at 17, Lillard sank a layup and the Blazers bolted away from there.

Bledsoe's three-point play cut the lead to 45-35 with 4:38 left in the third quarter, but Portland scored the final 15 points of the half and was up 60-35 at the break.

The Suns shot 29 percent in the first half (14 for 49) to Portland's 44 percent (22 for 50). Phoenix was 1 for 11 from 3-point range in the first two quarters to the Blazers' 7 of 13. Most tellingly, the Portland bench outscored its Phoenix counterparts 24-0.

The Blazers led a numbing 98-55 entering the final quarter.

TIP-INS

Trail Blazers: The one-game suspension, for taking a few steps off the bench in a preseason game, cost McCollum $165,000. .... Connaughton, a fourth-round draft pick of the Baltimore Orioles, had a previous career high of 15 points. ... Portland had six players in double figures. ... Blazers have won four consecutive season openers. ... Trail Blazers don't play their home opener until next Tuesday against New Orleans.

Suns: Len sat out the game with a sprained left ankle. He was injured in Saturday's practice. ... Rookie Josh Jackson started and made a 3-pointer with his first shot, but was 2 for 8 the rest of the way with only two rebounds. ... Marquese Chriss made 1 of 5 shots and had one rebound and five fouls in 12:05 minutes.

UP NEXT

Trail Blazers: At Indiana on Friday night.

Suns: Host Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night.

Clippers open the season with a 114-106 win over Portland

 Blake Griffin had 27 points and 13 rebounds and the Los Angeles Clippers opened the season Thursday night with a 114-106 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.

It was a contentious game that had fans booing the officials after two flagrant fouls on Portland players in the fourth quarter. Chris Paul hit a 3-pointer that gave the Clippers a 102-90 lead with 4:07 left and the crowd headed for the exits.

Damian Lillard's layup got the Blazers within 107-102 with 35.9 seconds left but the rally fell short.

It was the season opener for the Clippers, the last team in the Western Conference to start the season. Portland opened at home on Tuesday with a 113-104 victory over the Utah Jazz.

Paul also finished with 27 points for the Clippers. Lillard led the Blazers with 29 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out late.

The teams last met in the opening round of the playoffs last season. Portland dropped the first two games of the series, but Paul broke his right hand and Griffin reinjured his left quadriceps tendon, and the Blazers took the series 4-2. Portland would go on to fall to the Golden State Warriors in the conference semifinals.

Jamal Crawford hit a 3-pointer that capped a 16-0 run to put the Clippers up 37-27. Griffin's layup extended the lead to 49-38 with less than five minutes left in the first half. Paul made a 3 to end the half and the Clippers led 58-49.

The game got testy in the third quarter when DeAndre Jordan and Mason Plumlee got into a bit of a pushing match, resulting in offsetting technical fouls.

Portland rallied to keep it close throughout the quarter and Allan Crabbe's jumper made it 76-73, but Marreese Speights answered for the Clippers with a 3-pointer. It was tied at 82 going into the fourth quarter.

Raymond Felton put the Clippers ahead 90-84 but they couldn't extend it any further until midway through the quarter when the game got chippy again and Plumlee was assessed a flagrant foul.

That shifted the momentum, and the Clippers went up 95-89. CJ McCollum was called for a flagrant on Jordan, who missed both free throws. J.J. Redick made a 3-pointer that put Los Angeles ahead 98-89.

TIP INS

Clippers: The Clippers went after veterans in the offseason, bringing in 11-year pros Felton and Brandon Bass, eight-year pro Speights, and seven-year pro Alan Anderson. ... Los Angeles started Luc Mbah a Moute at small forward.

Trail Blazers: Lillard opened the season with 39 points against the Jazz. ... Chance The Rapper was among the fans at the game. ... The Blazers made just four of 18 3-point attempts.

TOGETHER: Paul, head of the NBA players' union, is one of a group of players that lent their voices to an NBA video to spread a message of unity. Along with Dwyane Wade, Kyle Korver and Carmelo Anthony, the video ends with the words "There's only one way to work through our challenges - together."

The Trail Blazers have been linking arms during the national anthem for the season's first two games.

UP NEXT

The Clippers host the Utah Jazz on Sunday night.

The Trail Blazers visit the Denver Nuggets on Saturday night.

Lillard scores 39, Blazers run home-opening win streak to 16

Portland's NBA-record streak of home-opening wins provided the inspiration against the Utah Jazz.

The Trail Blazers rallied in the fourth quarter for a 113-104 victory on Tuesday night, extending their record to 16 straight wins in home openers.

"With a streak that long, longest in the NBA, we wanted to keep it going," said Damian Lillard, who had 39 points. "I was proud that we were able to do that tonight."

CJ McCollum added 25 points for the Blazers, who trailed 83-77 at the start of the fourth quarter. They were still down 102-99 with under 5 minutes left before McCollum made a pull-up jumper and 3-pointer to give Portland a 104-102 lead.

Lillard made a pair of free throws before nailing a 3-pointer that put Portland up 109-102 with 1:02 left and the Jazz couldn't catch up.

"I wasn't surprised. Were you surprised?" McCollum said about Lillard's 3. "I saw the look in his eyes and I knew what time it was."

Joe Johnson scored 29 points in his debut with the Jazz and Rodney Hood added 26, including a rim-rattling dunk in the third quarter.

The Jazz were without several key players. Gordon Hayward is out with a broken finger on his left hand, whileDerrick Favors played in just one preseason game because of a sore knee. Alec Burks continues to rehab from arthroscopic surgery to his knee and ankle.

"Where we're at now, everybody just needs to come together and do what's needed," Jazz coach Quin Snyder said before the game.

Johnson signed a two-year deal with the team in the offseason. Boris Diaw, acquired in a trade with San Antonio, also started in his Jazz debut.

"I want to do what I can to help this team win," Johnson said. "This loss hurts, because we were in a position to win, on the road, against a tough team. This was a tough loss but there are positives in this. We have got to grind and get better."

Noah Vonleh gave the Blazers a spark off the bench and his 3-pointer put them ahead 34-28. Portland stretched the lead to as many as 13 points in the first half, paced by Lillard with 16 points.

Johnson's short jumper tied the game at 68 midway through the third quarter. Hood hit consecutive jumpers to give the Jazz a 77-71 lead. Hood would go on to split a pair of defenders with his dunk and Utah outscored the Blazers 37-23 in the quarter.

Johnson scored 27 of his points in the second half.

Allen Crabbe's 3-pointer tied the game at 85, but the Blazers couldn't take the lead until Lillard's 3 made it 97-96 with 5:50 left. Johnson answered with a 3-pointer on the other end to put the Jazz back in front.

"There were moments tonight where they had the momentum but I could hear the crowd just itching to get involved, just getting loud and cheering, and that's what we needed," Lillard said. "We needed that to pick us up."

TIP-INS

Jazz: Hayward and Favors accounted for an average of 36 points per game for the Jazz last season. ... Trey Lyles hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of the first half to narrow the Blazers' lead to 54-46. ... Rudy Gobert finished with 12 points and 14 rebounds.

Trail Blazers: Portland returns 11 players, and boasts the most returning minutes of any team in the league. "The learning curve is easier for those guys," coach Terry Stotts said. ... The Blazers linked arms in unity during the national anthem. ... With his first assist of the night, Lillard passed Jim Paxson for sixth on the franchise career list (2,008).

FOR THE RECORD: The previous steak for home-opening wins was 14, set by Boston from 1979-92.

UNUSUAL STAT: Neither team missed a free throw in the game. The Blazers went 22 for 22 and the Jazz went 16 for 16.

UP NEXT

Jazz: They host the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday. Utah was 24-17 at home last season.

Trail Blazers: Portland hosts the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday. The Blazers ousted the Clippers in the first round of the playoffs last season.