The Clippers want to extend their home series and move into the quarterfinals of the NBA Cup – Field Level Media – Professional solutions for sports content

The Los Angeles Clippers will put their eight-game home winning streak on the line when they take on the road-weary Portland Trail Blazers in the final of NBA Cup group play in Inglewood, Calif., on Tuesday.

Neither team goes into the evening without a place in the knockout stages of the tournament, but each team would end up with a loss. The winner would still need help to advance as a wildcard team in several scenarios.

The Clippers lost their first four home games of the season in their new $2 billion arena, but after finally breaking through there on Nov. 4, they haven’t lost since.

Los Angeles’ most recent home win was a 126-122 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Sunday, in which James Harden had 39 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds.

Harden became the second player in NBA history to score 3,000 baskets from 3-point range. The milestone came when he made 6 of 15 from distance.

“We don’t take any of these achievements for granted,” Harden said. “You know, it’s just the amount of work I put in, countless days and nights putting in the work, and a lot of people don’t see it, but the results come. (I’m) just grateful.”

Harden is shooting 44.7 percent from the floor in his last four games, an improvement over his 38.5 percent mark this season.

“(Harden) didn’t shoot the ball like he’s used to, but that’ll be okay,” Los Angeles coach Tyronn Lue said.

The Clippers’ win also marked the return of Norman Powell from a hamstring strain after a six-game absence. The shooting guard scored 28 points, increasing his team-leading 23.6 points per game.

Ivica Zubac leads the Clippers with 12.4 rebounds after grabbing eight rebounds against the Nuggets.

The Trail Blazers suffered a 137-131 home loss against the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday. Anfernee Simons scored 27 points for Portland while Shaedon Sharpe added 22. Simons was 9 of 11 from the floor and 6 of 8 from 3-point range.

Portland’s defense allowed Dallas to score at least 36 points in each of the final three quarters. The Blazers managed to shoot 58.1 percent from 3-point range (18 of 31), but they committed 21 turnovers that the Mavericks turned into 33 points.

Simons scored just three points in the first half, but he had 24 in the third quarter alone after shooting 5 of 6 from 3-point range in that period.

“We started off a little sloppy at the beginning (with) some coverage we weren’t committed to,” Simons said, according to the Oregonian. “But we were still in the game at halftime, endured everything and gave ourselves the chance to win the game. That’s all you could ask for.”

Portland’s road problems have dragged on for nearly a month. The Blazers lost four of five games on a road trip that ended the day before Thanksgiving and have lost six of their last seven road games in Portland since Nov. 7.

Sharpe leads Portland with an average of 18.0 points per game, while Simons contributes 17.3 points per contest. Deandre Ayton leads the Blazers with 10.3 rebounds per game.

–Field level media