Blazers' Donovan Clingan Makes Strange NBA History in Win vs Rockets

Matt Levine

Steven Bisig-Imagn Images
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The Portland Trail Blazers took down the Houston Rockets on Saturday by a score of 104-98. It was a nice bounce-back effort for the Trail Blazers after they were blown out by the same Houston team on Friday.

Within the game, rookie center Donovan Clingan continued to make some history. While he didn't actually score a point in this contest, he entered some rare NBA history.

Clingan finished the game with zero points, 19 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, and three blocks. With that stat line, he entered some rare air as one of the only players in history to score zero points but have at least 16 rebounds.

Former NBA star Dennis Rodman became famous for this type of stat line and now Clingan has posted his own. Clingan is the first player to go scoreless with at least 19 rebounds in over a decade when Omer Asik posted this stat-line in 2012, per Stathead.

Clingan has continued to shine for Portland this season, giving them a legitimate player in the middle of the paint. While he is still earning more minutes, Clingan has brought the energy to the Trail Blazers and made an impact whenever on the floor.

"It feels good," Clingan said of the praise from his teammates. "I'm working hard and just trying to help my team win. So if that's what it does, that's what it does."

For the season, Clingan has put up 5.8 points, 6.7 rebounds, 0.3 assists, 0.5 steals, and 2.2 blocks per game. The rookie has earned more playing time as the year has gone on and Portland is extremely high on his overall upside moving forward.

Despite Clingan not scoring in the game, guard Shaedon Sharpe led the Trail Blazers to a win. Afterward, his teammates spoke about his performance and raved about his impact.

“I’m proud of him., honestly,” Blazers forward Deni Avdija told reporters. “He struggled a little bit offensively last game. But he bounced back. And that shows a lot about the player, especially their personality. And I feel like today, he showed what he’s made of. And hopefully, he’s going to continue doing it, being aggressive. And he’s big for our offense.”

All in all, it was a good night for Portland as they grabbed another win for the year. They moved to a record of 7-10 as they look to be more competitive this season.

More Trail Blazers: Blazers' Donovan Clingan Sets Franchise Record, Passing Bill Walton

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Matt Levine
MATT LEVINE

Matt earned a Master of Science degree in Sport Management from Louisiana State University in 2021. He was born and raised in the Los Angeles area, covering all Southern California sports in his career.

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