LOS ANGELES — Brandon Roy scored 22 points and the Portland Trail Blazers spoiled the NBA debut of Blake Griffin with a 98-88 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night.
Griffin had 20 points and 14 rebounds, a year after his rookie season was supposed to begin. The No. 1 pick in the 2009 draft broke his left kneecap in the Clippers’ final preseason game and missed all of last season.
Eric Gordon led Los Angeles with 22 points and Rasual Butler scored 16.
Roy added 10 rebounds. He went 0 for 8 from the floor in the second half.
LaMarcus Aldridge added 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Blazers, who gave Nate McMillan his 200th victory as coach. Nicolas Batum scored 15 points, Andre Miller 14 and former Clippers center Marcus Camby had 11 points and 14 rebounds.
The Blazers, who beat Phoenix in their opener a night earlier, improved to 2-0 without Greg Oden and Joel Przybilla, who are both sidelined with knee injuries.
Griffin took the microphone before the game and thanked the fans for coming out on opening night. After recording his first NBA statistic — a foul — he electrified the crowd of 18,382 with an alley-oop one-handed dunk. He later scored seven straight points, drawing more cheers for a putback dunk and a tip-in.
Griffin’s intensity was on display when he jerked his mouth guard out after getting called for his second foul and sitting down.
But he hardly scored after halftime, and even though they weren’t directed at him, he heard the boos that fans don’t hesitate to give the Clippers. Chris Kaman drew the fans’ wrath when he missed consecutive shots during a stretch in which the Blazers ran off 15 straight points in the fourth. Kaman finished with 11 rebounds.
The Clippers led 71-70 going into the fourth, but they fell apart after scoring seven straight for a 78-74 lead. The Blazers scored at will, with Aldridge getting seven points and Miller four in the decisive run that put Portland ahead for good, 91-80.
Despite Griffin’s offensive exploits, the Clippers still trailed 32-23 after Roy scored Portland’s last five points of the first quarter.
Los Angeles outscored the Blazers 22-9 to open the second and led by one before Roy scored Portland’s last 11 points for a 54-49 lead going into halftime.
NOTES: The Clippers’ Vinny Del Negro fell to 2-1 on opening night as a coach. Chicago won both openers in his two seasons as Bulls coach. … McMillan is 200-212 in six seasons in Portland. … Former Clippers guard Cuttino Mobley, who retired two years ago because of a heart condition, sat courtside.
