LOS ANGELES – The LA Clippers held off a late rally by Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday night to win their fifth game in a row. In their eighth consecutive game without Kawhi Leonard and Marcus Morris, the Clippers got 20-point performances from Paul George, Reggie Jackson, and Nicolas Batum in the 117-109 victory.

Lillard finished with a game-high 27 points five rebounds, and six assists on 11-of-23 shooting. On LA's side, Reggie Jackson had 23 points and six assists while Nicolas Batum added 22 points and six three-pointers. It was George who finished with a team-high 24 points to go along with his nine rebounds and seven assists. Three of his 24 points came on a three-point play opportunity late in the fourth quarter.

George took Damian Lillard to the basket, spun off him, and hit the turnaround fadeaway while having his right forearm grabbed by Norman Powell. After powering through the contact and knocking down the jumper, which gave the Clippers a 10-point lead, Paul George flexed towards the baseline fans and turned to walk towards the free-throw line. That's where NBA photographer Bruce Ely took an iconic photo.

Following the hard-fought win over the Blazers, which featured yet another fourth-quarter scoring run, George was asked about the photo with the kid sitting courtside.

“I do not remember that little kid,” George said with a laugh. “Y'all photoshopped that. Am I looking at him? I do not remember that little kid… You know what, as long as he remembers that moment, that's all that matters. We shared that moment together.”

George then clarified that his reason for not remembering was how locked in he was in the moment.

“And it's not slight at the kid. I mean, sometimes I just get so lost in the game that I don't really know what's going on outside that rectangle, so sorry kid.”

After looking at the replay of the bucket and the celebration afterward, it looks as though the shot of Paul George and the kid staring at one another was quicker than it initially appeared.

Reggie Jackson loved the photo as well, expressing his joy in finally having Clippers fans back inside arenas and how much they change the games for him.

“Ha, I wish I saw it, but hopefully I get to definitely see it in film. I'm definitely gonna be looking for it — was he on our baseline… I'm gonna have to look for that. That might be why Paul was flexing so hard, we were all feeling the moment.”

That's when Reggie was shown the photo by yours truly.

“There it goes! I like the kid right there! We take that in, that's part of having fans back. Honestly, I'm not gonna lie. For myself, I didn't notice how much fans make the game, I'm always told to block out the noise while I'm playing until a few uproars and hearing it all the time, but this energy, being back in the building at home has been outstanding, like we've needed it, we needed it at times, we need the energy, we needed that fun, that embrace from our fans, that encouragement, so to have them out in games has been amazing and to see that pic is a blast. So I'm glad, I'm glad. I've been happy.

“I don't know, what our protocols are, I've been happy just to dap fans out coming out, like, it's been a blast to hear everybody again, even going on the road and, shoot, love to be hated. Yeah, for somebody who doubted it, necessarily, 10 years in, I definitely, I think I've had an epiphany so I'd rather go ahead and tell the fans, I appreciate y'all and y'all make this game what it is. So that's coming from somebody who doesn't necessarily say much, so I appreciate every fan of this game, for sure. I think I speak probably for everybody in the NBA, we're happy to have y'all back. So these interactions, this makes what we do so much fun and so enjoyable.”

With their second win over Damian Lillard and the Blazers, the Clippers ensure at least a season-series split against Portland. The final matchup, in Portland, on December 6th will determine whether the Clippers win the season series with their West Coast counterparts or finish in a tie.

Paul George, Reggie Jackson, and the Clippers will now take their five-game winning streak into a Thursday night showdown against the red-hot Miami Heat team that's won seven of their first 10 games but will be on the second night of a back-to-back set.