Portland

led 46-31

at the half

JASON QUICK

LOS ANGELES --There's something about Rudy Fernandez and the dramatic, and on Saturday, the Trail Blazers needed every bit of his flair to snap them out of a funk, which helped them to a 87-72 win over the Los Angeles Clippers at the Staples Center.

Fernandez twice rescued the Blazers from what was turning out to be a lethargic and unsightly performance, scoring five points in the final 21 seconds of the first half and hitting two key three-pointers late after the Clippers had erased a 15-point deficit and taken a fourth-quarter lead.

The win assured the Blazers (52-28) will finish no lower than fifth in the Western Conference, and moved them into a tie with Houston for the third best record in the West and to within one game of Denver for the Northwest Division lead with two games remaining.

However, Denver can clinch the division on Monday with a win at home against Sacramento. If the Nuggets are upset, and the Blazers beat Oklahoma City in the Rose Garden on Monday, the division title will be decided Wednesday in the season finale, when the Nuggets visit the Rose Garden.

This was probably the Blazers' worst performance in the past three weeks, but it continued their late-season roll, which included finishing their road schedule by winning seven of their final nine away from the Rose Garden. The Blazers ended 20-21 on the road, their best mark since 2002-03, the last year they made the playoffs.

Fernandez was the lone spark off the bench, scoring 13, as the Blazers relied on four starters in double figures. LaMarcus Aldridge led all scorers with 21 points, while adding nine rebounds, and center Joel Przybilla had 10 points and 14 rebounds. It was Przybilla's dunk off a Roy miss with 6:31 left that broke a tie at 68, giving the Blazers a lead they would never relinquish.

After Przybilla's dunk, Fernandez hit two three-pointers, the last giving the Blazers a 78-68 lead with 3:37 left.

In the first half, it appeared a Fernandez flurry was going to be enough to propel the Blazers. He converted a fast break for a dunk with 21 seconds left, then stole an inbound pass from Baron Davis with 4.3 seconds left and raced for a layin while being fouled with 0.1 seconds left. He made the free throw, capping a 10-0 run that gave the Blazers a 46-31 halftime lead.

It was similar to the dramatic finish to the third quarter last month against Phoenix, when Fernandez scored five points in the final three seconds at the Rose Garden.

The halftime lead was just a mirage, however, as the Blazers' first-half shooting woes extended into the second half. The Clippers scored the first seven points of the third quarter to serve notice they would not lie down, and then took a 68-66 lead with 7:44 left in the game when rookie Eric Gordon completed a soaring fast-break dunk.

The Clippers (19-61), who have been plagued by injuries and suspensions all season, played with their most complete roster in some time, as Zach Randolph returned from a two-game suspension for suspicion of driving under the influence, and Marcus Camby, Chris Kaman and Baron Davis were all back from injuries.

Randolph missed his first six shots and finished with 13 points and six rebounds on 6 for 18 shooting. Gordon led the Clippers with 18 points and Davis, hounded by Nicolas Batum for much of the game, was held to 12 points and three assists.

It was a dreadful start to the game, as the Blazers started 1 for 11 from the field and the Clippers 1 for 7. More than halfway through the first quarter, the score was 5-5, and at the end of the first quarter it was 17-17.

The win assured the Blazers of a winning April, marking the sixth winning month of the season, the first time that has been accomplished since the 1991-92 season. The win also ties the most wins in Nate McMillan's nine-year coaching career. He also won 52 games in 2003-04 when he was in Seattle.

Notes: Darius Miles attended the game and sat courtside. The former Blazers forward and current member of the Memphis Grizzlies was in town because his team plays the Lakers today . . . When the Blazers start the playoffs, their active players will have 35 games and 489 minutes of playoff experience, marking the fewest for a postseason team since the 1996-97 Clippers.

Jason Quick: 503-221-4372;

jasonquick@news.oregonian.com

To read his "Behind the Beat" blog, go to

http://blog.oregonlive.com/

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