As going gets tough, Clippers can’t quite get going in loss

Reporting from Portland — The Clippers on Tuesday night played the first of three games this week against elite NBA teams.

The first one, against the Portland Trail Blazers, didn’t go so well, not with the Clippers sputtering at times, finding a groove and then sputtering some more.

Portland, one of the early surprises of the NBA season, withstood anything the Clippers threw at them in the way of comebacks, holding on for a 105-97 victory at the Rose Garden.

The Clippers lost to a Trail Blazers team that is undefeated at home, improving to 6-0, and is 7-2 overall.

Next up for the Clippers is the Miami Heat on Wednesday night at Staples Center, their first back-to-back game of the season.

Then the Clippers play host to the Lakers on Saturday night at Staples.

“That’s a good test for us, for us to face all those teams,” said Caron Butler, who tied his season high with 20 points. “But to come here and play the way we played here in Portland . . . that was a great game. It was a great effort. But like I said, there are no moral victories. We’ve got to have a short memory and once we land in L.A., get this loss out of our head and get prepared for Miami.”

The Clippers began the game in roller-coaster fashion. They fell behind by eight points in the first quarter, but had opened a two-point lead by the end of the period.

They fell behind by 11 points in the second and third quarters and by nine points in the fourth before making one last run that came up short.

“We just couldn’t get over the hump,” said Chauncey Billups, who had 19 points on five-for-13 shooting.

Trailing 99-90, the Clippers made yet another push at the Blazers, who had all five starters score in double figures, led by Gerald Wallace’s 20 points before he fouled out.

Billups started the run after he was fouled shooting a three-point attempt.

Billups, who had been 24 for 24 from the free-throw line this season, missed his first attempt before making the next two.

His three-point play with 25.9 seconds left got the Clippers to within 100-97.

From that point, the Clippers had to foul and hope that the Trail Blazers would miss their free throws.

But that didn’t happen, as Raymond Felton (17 points, eight assists) made three of four free throws in the final few seconds.

“They just hit shots when they needed them,” said Blake Griffin, who had 18 points and 12 rebounds. “We had a couple of key turnovers. But you’ve got to give it to them. They hit shots.”

Indeed, Portland made 51.4% of its shots.

For the Clippers, Chris Paul didn’t have one of his better games. Saddled with foul trouble, he finished with 11 points, all in the second half, and five fouls in 31 minutes.

“We can learn a lot from this game — how we bounce back,” Griffin said. “We need to bounce back well. Obviously Miami is a great team, so are the Lakers. Portland is a great team too, especially at home. So it’s a test for us. We’re excited about it and are looking forward to the challenge.”

broderick.turner@latimes.com

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