PORTLAND (Oregon) - The Los Angeles Clippers did not just lose Game 4 of their National Basketball Association first-round playoff series with the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday at the Moda Center. They lost their point guard, leader and best player, too.
Chris Paul left the game in the third quarter of the Trail Blazers' 98-84 victory with a right hand injury and did not return. X-rays showed a fractured third metacarpal. He might be sidelined for the remainder of the play-offs.
Al-Farouq Aminu scored 30 points - a career high for both the regular season and the play-offs - as the Blazers evened the best-of-seven series at two games apiece.
Aminu made 11 of 20 shots from the field, including six of 10 from three-point range.
The forward also had 10 rebounds and three blocked shots. CJ McCollum scored 19 points, and Mason Plumlee contributed two points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists for Portland.
Clippers forward Blake Griffin had 17 points and seven rebounds before leaving the game in the fourth quarter with a sore left quad. Jeff Green added 17 points off the bench for Los Angeles, and Paul scored 16.
