PORTLAND -- The Los Angeles Clippers came to the Moda Center on Friday night needing a win to separate themselves from Portland in the Western Conference play-in race. 

For a stretch in the third quarter, after cutting a 20-point deficit down to single digits, it looked like they might pull it off. But what followed was a total meltdown that erased everything good that came before it.

Portland outscored the Clippers 30-13 in the fourth quarter to pull away for a 116-97 win, and just like that, both teams are tied at 41-40 with one game left in the regular season. 

This was the worst possible time for this team to go flat, and that is exactly what happened.

The Comeback That Didn't Last

The Clippers trailed by as many as 20 in the first half, looking slow and disconnected while the Blazers got whatever they wanted inside. 

But the third quarter was different, as Los Angeles ripped off a 33-25 stretch that brought the Clippers' energy up and quieted the Moda Center. 

Kawhi Leonard was the engine behind it, finishing with 24 points, eight rebounds, and five assists on 10-of-20 shooting.

That third quarter was arguably the best stretch this team has played in weeks, and it makes the fourth quarter that much harder to stomach. 

Because when it mattered most, the rest of the roster disappeared.

Darius Garland had 16 points and seven assists but shot just 5-of-16 from the field, including 2-of-8 from three, and struggled to create separation against Portland's switching defense down the stretch. 

Bennedict Mathurin went scoreless on 0-of-2 shooting in limited minutes, and John Collins finished with zero points on three missed field goals while picking up two turnovers and two fouls. 

That is simply not going to get it done in a game with playoff seeding on the line, and the fact that Leonard had to do everything himself speaks to a bigger problem with this roster right now.

"We still got two more games, regardless," Garland said after the loss. "Try to go win both of those games, keep chipping away, but take one game at a time. Go back, watch the film, and try to clean up on the mistakes that we had tonight."

Depth Issues Surfacing at the Wrong Time

Portland's Deni Avdija torched the Clippers for 35 points on 11-of-19 shooting, getting to the line 13 times and converting 12. Donovan Clingan added 18 points and 13 rebounds, while Robert Williams III had 13 points and 10 boards off the bench. 

The Blazers dominated the glass 60-39, and they turned 17 Clippers turnovers into 24 points. 

Portland seemed like the team fighting for its life on Friday, and the Clippers seemed like the team that had already checked out.

Head coach Tyronn Lue pointed to the team's thin frontcourt as a factor. "Not having Yanic and Isaiah has been tough for us," Lue said. "But we've got to put our head down, gotta keep grinding, and go from there."

He is right about the personnel, but at some point the guys who are available have to show up. 

Collins and Mathurin combining for zero points on five shots in a game this meaningful is a problem that goes beyond missing bodies. 

The effort was there in spurts, but spurts do not win road games in April.

What Comes Next

The loss leaves the Clippers in a tough spot heading into Sunday's finale against the Golden State Warriors at Intuit Dome. 

Portland is now tied at 41-40 and holds the tiebreaker thanks to a better conference record, meaning the Clippers likely need to beat the Warriors to lock up the eighth seed. 

Dropping to ninth would mean needing two wins just to reach the playoffs, while finishing eighth gives them a shot at the seventh seed with one win.

The frustrating part about Friday night is that this game was right there for the taking. 

The Clippers proved in the third quarter that they had the talent and the fight to win in Portland, and then they let it slip through their fingers with a 13-point fourth quarter. 

If the supporting cast around Leonard cannot figure out how to stay engaged for a full 48 minutes, Sunday might not matter much either. 

This team has shown flashes of being dangerous all year, but flashes do not mean anything when they disappear in the moments that count.