Do injuries to Chris Paul and Blake Griffin foretell a breakup of Clippers core?: The season isn't over. An era might be. Injuries to Chris Paul and Blake Griffin could compel the Clippers to start contemplating the dreaded possibility of breaking up their core much sooner than they ever imagined. -- Los Angeles Times

Clippers are game but out of luck: The evening began with sobs, Doc Rivers admitting he missed the strong shoulder of his late mother Bettye. The evening ended in sighs, the decimated Clippers realizing no amount of support could keep them upright. -- Los Angeles Times

Trail Blazers beat depleted Clippers, 108-98, take 3-2 lead: Staples Center appeared about half full for tipoff of the Clippers' playoff game Wednesday night, a starting time 30 minutes earlier than normal largely to blame. There were also large pockets of vacant seats by the end of what might be their final home game of the season. -- Los Angeles Times

Trail Blazers didn't take banged-up Clippers for granted: Wednesday's game presented the Portland Trail Blazers with an opportunity to seize a big moment against a Clippers team plagued by injuries. The Trail Blazers took advantage, competing until the end to pull out a 108-98 victory over the Clippers in Game 5 of the Western Conference first-round series at Staples Center. -- Los Angeles Times

Clippers’ coach Doc Rivers wishes he could lean on mom: Clippers coach Doc Rivers suddenly found it difficult to speak. Then he began to cry. Rivers had just been asked who he leans on so he doesn’t get discouraged. It was a good question, considering the Clippers lost their two best players — Chris Paul and Blake Griffin — to injury in a Game 4 loss on Monday that tied their first-round playoff series 2-2 with the Portland Trail Blazers. He was OK, for a moment. -- Long Beach Press-Telegram

Short-handed Clippers are game, but they come up short in Game 5 against Trail Blazers: The trauma from seeing Chris Paul break his hand, from knowing Blake Griffin wouldn’t be on the court again this year, from having a strong chance turn to a near-impossibility, didn’t manifest Wednesday night at Staples Center. At least not right away. But as time went on in the Clippers’ 108-98 Game 5 loss, it all became too much to handle. -- The Orange County Register

Trail Blazers prove they can shut down Clippers offense: Much of the Clippers’ offensive struggles in their series against the Portland Trail Blazers can be blamed on bruised heels, poor spacing and a general lack of accuracy, but that’s not all. Portland’s defense has been effective in taking away easy shots and shutting down the Clippers in the past three games. -- The Orange County Register

Damian Lillard delivers late as Portland Trail Blazers beat Los Angeles Clippers in Game 5: Through three quarters the Portland Trail Blazers and Damian Lillard looked out of sorts. They couldn't pull away from the shorthanded Los Angeles Clippers and found themselves in an uncomfortably close game entering the final quarter. Lillard had made just one of 10 shots and the Blazers were on the ropes despite the Clippers missing their two best players. -- The Oregonian

How big was Game 5?: With the Portland Trail Blazers tipping off in Game 5 tonight, in what could be the turning point in their best-of-seven playoffs series against the reeling Los Angeles Clippers, we want to know where you think this game ranks in terms of biggest Trail Blazers games in recent history. -- The Oregonian

It's never too early to say, 'Bring on the Golden State Warriors': The Trail Blazers smiled on Wednesday night. They banked shots in. They boat-raced an undermanned opponent. They skipped off with a Game 5 victory at the Staples Center, snapping a nine-game road playoff losing streak by boat-racing the Clippers 108-98. -- The Oregonian

Defense -- Blazers' new secret weapon -- sparks win at LA: It took a long, long time. More than three-quarters of the game, in fact, but the Trail Blazers finally broke free of the Los Angeles Clippers Wednesday night. The result, of course, is a 3-2 lead in their best-of-seven first-round playoff series. -- CSNNW.com

Damian Lillard, Trail Blazers get hot late, pull away from Clippers to take series lead: It wasn't easy, it wasn't pretty, and it wasn't conventional, but the Trail Blazers accomplished one of their top goals of this best-of-seven playoff series: They won in Los Angeles. The Blazers beat the Clippers 108-98 on Wednesday in Game 5 to take a 3-2 series lead after Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum led a fourth-quarter onslaught that sets up Friday's potential series-clinching Game 6 in Portland. -- CSNNW.com

One more win, and it's bring on the Warriors: Those Trail Blazers who began the season focusing on development of all their young players, with the playoffs hardly on their radar? They’re a victory away from advancing to the second round and a date with the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors. -- The Portland Tribune