The last time the L.A. Clippers left Portland, guard Chris Paul hadn't played in the last two games after breaking his right hand while forward Blake Griffin hadn't played due to the flare up in his quad injury. On top of that, sharpshooter J.J. Redick was playing with a left heel bruise and Austin Rivers played most of Game 6 with 11 stitches around his swollen-shut right eye.

Six months after their hard-fought, yet heartbreaking loss in Game 6 of the first round of the playoffs, the L.A. Clippers came into the Moda Center for their season opener with a new mindset: come together, embrace the hate, and leave it all out on the court. And that's exactly what they did in Thursday night's matchup, defeating the Blazers 114-106.

What started out as a competitive game between two Western Conference rivals turned into a highly physical matchup that saw a pair of flagrant fouls accompanied by a pair of technical fouls.

One of the main goals for the Clippers coming in was to eliminate the three-point shooting as much as possible. This was an even more highlighted goal after Portland shot a deadly 13-19 from downtown in their season opener against the Jazz. Paul and the Clippers held Portland to just 4-18 shooting from outside, instead forcing the Blazers to try and beat them from inside the arc.

“We just saw the clinic they put on at the 3-point line, so we just tried to make it tough on them and get them inside the line,” said Chris Paul after the win.

Aside from the stellar defensive effort, Paul scored 27 points with five rebounds and five assists. Blake Griffin added 27 points, 13 rebounds, two assists, and three steals. L.A. also got 15 points apiece from Marreese Speights and Jamal Crawford. For the Trail Blazers, Damian Lillard had 29 points and 10 rebounds, while Maurice Harkless threw in 23 points and eight rebounds.

The game was a close one throughout the first quarter with neither team able to create separation. Griffin put in nine early points while Lillard put in 10 himself. When Lillard went to the bench, the Clippers scored seven straight to end the quarter and stretched it out to a 16-0 run early in the second quarter. Speights and Crawford combined for 11 second quarter points, holding the lead until Paul and Griffin returned to score 15 together49. in the second. By halftime, L.A. held a 58-49 lead.

A perfect 8-8 combined shooting for 17 points from Harkless (4-4) and Mason Plumlee (4-4) helped Portland keep the game close and eventually secure a tie at 82 apiece heading into a fun fourth-quarter. The final quarter, however, belonged to the Clippers as Chris Paul (eight points), Jamal Crawford (eight points), and Blake Griffin (five points) proved to have too much firepower, leading L.A. to a 104-90 lead with just over three minutes remaining in the game. A pair of flagrant fouls also helped the Clippers keep control of the Blazers and their crowd until the final buzzer sounded.

In the end, the scoreboard read: Visitors – 114, Blazers – 106. Not only did the Clippers come out on top, but they also came out of this game healthy, something they were unable to say the last two times they played in the Moda Center. The Clippers, starting with Chris Paul, are also embracing a new role that Paul talked about after the game with TNT's David Aldridge.

L.A.'s next game will be it's home opener on Sunday against the Utah Jazz.