McCollum inactive by mistake on pregame roster, misses game

Trail Blazers: The Blazers lead the Clippers 86-20 in games played in Portland.

Portland Trail Blazers guard C.J. McCollum sits on the bench during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Los Angeles Clippers in Portland, Ore., Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016.

SAN ANTONIO – Tim Duncan scored a season-high 18 points and the San Antonio Spurs had eight other players in double figures, rolling to a 123-98 victory over the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night that kept them unbeaten at home. McCollum, who is averaging 21 points per game, did not get to play in the contest.

Paul logged six assists in the final 5:52 to help the Clippers hold on after what had been a 23-point halftime lead was reduced to six on a few occasions in the fourth quarter.

“What I love about what Chris is doing”, Rivers said, “he’s picking the right plays out of our play sheet without looking to me”. Turnovers plagued the Blazers, while DeAndre Jordan was a menace inside with a mixture of rebounding, blocked shots and alley-oops Add to that some very warm shooting by the Clippers and the first period was one unforgettable mishap.

But each time Portland got close, the Clippers hit a big shot.

Wesley Johnson answered for the Clippers with a 3-pointer — his first basket of the game — to stop Portland’s momentum.

Guard Damian Lillard collected 20 points, seven rebounds and nine assists while center Mason Plumlee had 19 points and nine boards for the Trail Blazers (15-23). CJ McCollum was mistakenly placed on the inactive list before Wednesday’s loss and Terry Stotts and the Blazers did not realize the mistake until it was too late.

Amide the confusion, McCollum was dressed in warmup gear prior to tipoff, while Luis Montero, who was listed as active by mistake as part of the whole snafu, was in street clothes.

The Blazers’ public relations team described the mistake as a “clerical error”. “Although we caught the error, we thought we’d caught it in time, apparently we did not, so CJ was ruled inactive, and that’s that”.

Doc Rivers, noting that he had twice submitted incorrect rosters, wondered about the point of the pregame paperwork.

“There should be no ‘Active List, ‘” he said. “I mean, I’ve been fighting this for three years”. “We knew you couldn’t change the rule, because it happened to us”.

McCollum said he was putting it all in the past.

“Give them credit”, Rivers said.