Seattle, WA

Trail Blazers lose tight game in front of enthusiastic Seattle NBA fans

Published

1 year ago

October 12, 2024

Trail Blazers lose tight game in front of enthusiastic Seattle NBA fans

SEATTLE – The Portland Trail Blazers played their first preseason game Friday night at Climate Pledge Arena and lost 101-99 to the LA Clippers.

The winning basket for the Clippers came on an alley-oop dunk by Kai Jones on a pass from Jordan Miller with 2.2 seconds on the clock. Blazers guard Dalana Banton missed a three-point attempt as time expired.

The thrilling end added to the atmosphere that more resembled a playoff game. Many Seattle sports legends were in attendance to welcome the NBA back to Seattle, even if just for one night – for now.

Former Supersonics legends Sean Kemp, Gary Payton, and Jamal Crawford were on hand. So were a handful of famous former Seahawks, including coach Pete Carroll. Former Blazers star Brandon Roy, from Seattle, was also on hand.

They were all there to watch the Blazers take on the LA Clippers. One team doesn’t have much hope for the upcoming season, while the other could get into the playoff mix.

For the Blazers, the night was about testing what they worked on during training camp. Rebounding and pace were at the top of the list.

Blazers coach Chauncey Billups said his team was a bit antsy to play an opponent after nearly two weeks of training camp, which might have caused the Blazers not to play their best.

“I thought we struggled,” Billups said. “I thought their physicality early in the game had an impact on us. We turned it over early. And even when we didn’t turn it over, we just weren’t clean at all … But it was good to get out there and get one in.”

The Blazers committed nine turnovers in the first half and 17 for the game, which the Clippers converted into 23 points.

Also important all season long will be the play of second-year guard Scoot Henderson and rookie center Donovan Clingan.

Los Angeles Clippers center Ivica Zubac (40) shoots with Portland Trail Blazers center Donovan Clingan (23) defending during the first half of a preseason NBA basketball game, Friday, Oct. 11, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/John Froschauer) APAP

Henderson closely resembled the player he was for most of last season when he struggled after being selected with the No. 3 pick in the 2023 NBA draft.

Henderson committed two turnovers within the game’s first minute and ended the night with seven in 30 minutes. He went on to score 13 points while shooting 4 of 16 from the field and 1 of 6 on three-pointers. Henderson also added three assists and three rebounds.

Rookie center Donovan Clingan made his first shot, a three-pointer from straight away. He ended the game with seven points and five rebounds in 19 minutes. He backed up Deandre Ayton, who, in 17 minutes, put up eight points and seven rebounds.

Jerami Grant scored 15 points in just 16 minutes. Toumani Camara led the Blazers with 19 points. He shot 5 of 9 from the field and added nine rebounds.

WHAT IT MEANS

The Blazes were down Shaedon Sharpe (shoulder) and Anfernee Simons (ankle soreness). That’s a lot of offensive firepower to play without. Also, forward Deni Avdija sat out for personal reasons.

That the Blazers had a chance to win says a lot about the rest of the roster.

Kris Murray started at guard and delivered nine points on 4-of-7 shooting.

Toumani Camara, Kai Jones — Portland Trail Blazers forward Toumani Camara (33) drives against Los Angeles Clippers forward Kai Jones (23) during the second half of a preseason NBA basketball game, Friday, Oct. 11, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/John Froschauer) APAP

PACESETTERS

The Blazers want to play faster this season than in 2023-24 when they ranked 21st at 97.9 possessions per 48 minutes. On Friday, the Blazers had a 102.2 pace.

“Not great, but I thought their full-court pressure kind of impacted that,” Billups said. “And then also, their offensive rebounding really hurt us.”

The Clippers converted 10 offensive rebounds into 17 second-chance points. Overall, Portland outrebounded the Clippers 47-43.

NEXT UP

The Blazers play their second preseason game at 3 p.m., Sunday at the Sacramento Kings.

— Aaron Fentress | afentress@Oregonian.com | @AaronJFentress (Twitter), @AaronJFentress (Instagram), @AaronFentress (Facebook)

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Seattle, WA

49ers Set to Face the Seattle Seahawks in Divisional Round

Published

22 minutes ago

January 11, 2026

Press Room

49ers Set to Face the Seattle Seahawks in Divisional Round

The San Francisco 49ers will continue their postseason run, next up against the No. 1 seed Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field for the NFC Divisional Round.

The 49ers defeated the No. 3 seed Philadelphia Eagles on the road during Wild Card Weekend. With the win, San Francisco advances to the NFC Divisional Round. As the lowest seed in the conference, the 49ers will face the top seed team, the Seahawks. San Francisco and Seattle will meet for the third time this season, the 49ers taking the first matchup and the Seahawks taking the second. Winner of the Divisional Round will advance to the NFC Championship, the final round ahead of Super Bowl LX at Levi’s® Stadium.

Time, date, and broadcast information for the 49ers vs. Seahawks Divisional Round contest will be announced following the conclusion of the NFL’s Wild Card Weekend.

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Seattle, WA

Seahawks Will Host Rams Or 49ers In Divisional Round

Published

12 hours ago

January 11, 2026

Press Room

Seahawks Will Host Rams Or 49ers In Divisional Round

The Seahawks will host an NFC West opponent in the divisional round of the playoffs.

Whether that opponent is the Rams or the 49ers will be determined on Sunday when the 49ers play the Eagles in Philadelphia. Also still to be determined is the date and time of the game.

The Rams, who are the No. 5 seed, beat the Panthers on Saturday to advance, and since Seattle, as the No. 1 seed, hosts the lowest-seeded team that advances out of the wild card round, the sixth-seeded 49ers would come to Lumen Field if they win on Sunday. If the Eagles win, however, the Rams would come to Seattle, while the Eagles would head to Chicago to face the Bears, who beat the Packers on Saturday night.

The Seahawks split the season series with both teams, losing to the 49ers in Week 1 and the Rams in Week 11 before beating the Rams in Week 16 and the 49ers in Week 18 as part of a seven-game winning streak that helped them win the NFC West and earn the No. 1 seed.

Next weekend’s game at Lumen Field will be the Seahawks’ first home playoff game with fans in the stadium—they hosted a wild card game in an empty stadium following the 2020 regular season—since they beat the Lions in the wild card round during the 2016 season. Prior to that empty-stadium loss to the Rams five years ago, the Seahawks won 10 consecutive home playoff games dating back to the start of their Super Bowl run in 2005. The Seahawks have reached the Super Bowl in each of the three previous seasons that they earned the No. 1 seed.

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Seattle, WA

Paul Arriola, Pedro de la Vega and the Seattle Sounders return in ‘Avengers: Doomsday’

Published

1 day ago

January 10, 2026

Press Room

Paul Arriola, Pedro de la Vega and the Seattle Sounders return in ‘Avengers: Doomsday’

Forgotten. Absent. Inconsistently healthy. Weights of expectation.

These heroes offered glimpses and scenes of their greatness in 2025.

Paul Arriola, X Man

Paul Arriola gave us a glimpse of his former greatness before his injury. Once a DP, once the highest value transfer within MLS, once recruited to skip MLS entirely for what was at the time a much better league, Arriola’s all comps contributions per 90 would compare to wingback style players Jordi Alba and the now-gone Ali Ahmed.

Arriola slides right in that space, with his 0.57. Now, a discerning reader such as yourself will imagine small sample sizes and opponent quality. You would be correct. But Paul also put up similar numbers in MLS in 2018, 2021 and 2022. His time in MLS as a whole is .40/90 (in the realm of last season’s Christian Espinoza).

Defining Arriola’s role is always going to be hard. He’s played as many wide roles as exist in the modern game. With Seattle, he could be a left or right winger in a four-front if they choose to run a 3-2-4-1, or a wingback in a 3-4-2-1 or a conventional winger in a 4-2-3-1. No matter his role, he’s been strong. His calls to the US National Team ran every year from age 20-27, when he put up better numbers there than he did in league play. He’s now 30.

Pedro de la Vega, the injury saga

Sounders fans know how bright Pedro can burn. So do, Lanus fans, Argentina fans, Cruz Azul fans, Santos Laguna fans, Tijuana fans, Puebla, Galaxy, Inter Messi and a smattering of other MLS teams. The Leagues Cup player of the year and wonder goal nominee is absolutely thrilling, when available.

Lanus, Argentina and Seattle also know his history of injuries. Injuries are why he’s in Seattle.

PdlV only played 41% of available minutes in all competitions. A healthy winger of his quality should be around 66% or so. His absolutely stellar all comps performance of 0.72 is on par with Hany Mukhtar, at 20th in MLS play. Pedro is ahead of Diego Rossi, Djordje Mihailovic, and Dejan Joveljić.

When you think about how the Seattle Sounders will make up ground for the inevitable decline of Danny Musovski the names Arriola and de la Vega should be bandied about.

They weren’t merely better than the people who replaced them on the Sounders – they’re better than the majority of high-profile players in the league.

In 2025 Craig Waibel raised the floor and the peak. Injuries gave us only a few glimpses of that peak.

2026 is when the multi-competition heroic Sounders can once again show their prowess and why their presence as a top tier club is eternal.

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Catching up on Sounder at Heart

Here’s what you missed on the site this week.

Sounders

Next match: Sunday, February 22, 2026 v. the Colorado Rapids | 6 p.m. PT | Apple TV/FS1

Reign

Schedule to come next week.

Defiance

Schedule to come.

Looking back at the news

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