The Clippers were eliminated from NBA Cup competition on Tuesday night against the Portland Trail Blazers at the Intuit Dome.

However, the main goal of the night was for the Clippers to continue to compete at a high level and capitalize on their superior defense.

With Norman Powell scoring efficiently and James Harden maintaining his offensive performance, the Clippers cruised to a 127-105 victory over the Trail Blazers.

The Clippers have won eight of their last 10 games with sustained determination, following the lead of Powell and Harden.

Powell started strong, making his first five shots en route to going 11-15 from the field and 5-7 from three-point range on 30 points.

It was another milestone game for Harden. With 23 points, Harden has scored 26,399 points in his 16-year career, ranking him 17th on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, ahead of Paul Pierce. Harden also had seven assists and hit a three-pointer at the end of the third quarter to cap his scoring drive and give the Clippers a 13-point lead.

The Clippers took control in the third quarter and held the Trail Blazers (8-14) to just 20 points. And in the fourth round they didn’t hold back and built a lead of 26 points. They shot 55.3% from the field and 51.4% from three-point range in the game.

The only bad news for the Clippers was the loss of Terance Mann to a left finger injury in the third quarter.

Clippers forward Derrick Jones Jr. (center) dunks over Trail Blazers guards Anfernee Simons (left) and Shaedon Sharpe during the first half on Tuesday.

(Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press)

The Clippers finished 2-2 in NBA Cup play. But with an overall record of 14-9, the Clippers have remained focused on putting in the right effort in every game.

“We just can’t get comfortable,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. “Our goal is to be in the top five defenses this season and we are doing that, so we can’t let ourselves get flustered. And then just having the right attitude every night. When we get to walk-throughs and shoot-arounds, we have to take advantage of that time because we haven’t had time to practice all month because we play every day or every other day. So just letting go, being mentally sharp, watching film, understanding what we need to do and I think our guys have done a good job of that so far.”