INGLEWOOD, Calif. — As the Portland Trail Blazers slowly creep out of the fog of last week’s earth-shattering news surrounding their embattled coach , reality beckons.

There are flights to catch. There are game plans to scrutinize. There are games to be played.

And the relentless NBA schedule won’t be doing them any favors.

The Blazers learned that the hard way Sunday night when they fizzled away in the second half against the physical, veteran Los Angeles Clippers , who played better defense and hit more clutch shots down the stretch in a 114-107 win at Intuit Dome.

It’s only been four days since the Blazers learned that Chauncey Billups had been arrested and indicted in a federal court on charges of money laundering and wire fraud conspiracy. If Thursday was about shock and

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