PORTLAND, Ore. -- The Los Angeles Clippers didn't just lose Game 4 of their first-round playoff series against the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday night at the Moda Center. They lost their point guard, leader and best player, too.

Chris Paul left the game in the third quarter of the Trail Blazers' 98-84 victory with a right hand injury and did not return. X-rays showed a fractured third metacarpal bone.

Clippers officials said Paul would be re-evaluated after the team returns home Tuesday morning, but it likely the point guard will miss the remainder of the postseason.

"It obviously doesn't look very good for him," Los Angeles coach Doc Rivers said.

Al-Farouq Aminu scored 30 points -- a career high for both the regular season and the playoffs -- as the Blazers evened the best-of-seven series at two games apiece. Aminu -- called "Chief" by his teammates -- made 11 of 20 shots from the field, including six of 10 from 3-point range. The 6-foot-9 forward also had 10 rebounds and three blocked shots.

It was a strict departure from the way Aminu played offensively in the first three games of the series, averaging 9.3 points on 29.7 percent shooting -- including 4-for-20 from 3-point range.

"It was good to see him break out," Portland coach Terry Stotts said. "Everybody has been encouraging him to continue to shoot. It was just a matter of time before he had a game like that."

Maybe not like that. Aminu's previous career playoff high was 16 points. He has never scored more than 28 in a regular-season game.

"Some of the greatest shooters have gone through slumps," Aminu said. "I remember Ray Allen going through a slump in the Finals one year. Sometimes that just happens. If it can happen to Ray Allen, it can happen to me. You just don't get too high, you don't get too low no matter what happens."

CJ McCollum scored 19 points, and Mason Plumlee contributed two points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists for Portland.

Clippers forward Blake Griffin had 17 points and seven rebounds before leaving the game in the fourth quarter with a sore left quad.

"It doesn't look good for him either," Rivers aid. "We'll see (Tuesday). We're not sure with Blake yet. I would say 50-50 on the next game with him. I expect him to be back, but we don't know that yet."

Griffin said, "I could feel it out there. Hopefully in the next 24 to 48 hours you turn a corner and feel better. I'll be re-evaluated (Tuesday), and we'll go from there."

Jeff Green added 17 points off the bench for Los Angeles.

Paul -- who finished with 16 points and four assists in 25 minutes -- left the game midway through the third quarter with the Clippers trailing 58-52. He was hurt while defending Gerald Henderson, reaching in an attempt to knock the ball away.

Without their floor leader, the Clippers hung around for a while. Green nailed a 3-pointer at the buzzer to narrow Portland's advantage to 66-64 after three quarters.

The Blazers outscored the Clippers 11-4 to start the fourth quarter go ahead 77-68. The difference was 84-72 with 5 1/2 minutes to play. The Clippers got no closer than seven points the rest of the way.

Portland shot only 40.9 percent from the field but made 13 of 31 shots from 3-point range (41.9 percent). The Blazers ruled the backboards 58-42 and held the Clippers to 35.7 percent shooting, including 7-for-25 (28 percent) on 3-point attempts.

"We played our best defensive game (of the series)," said Portland's Damian Lillard, who had 12 points, six rebounds and six assists but made only four of 15 shots from the field. "It was one of our most consistent defensive games of the season."

Portland jumped to a 12-4 lead, with Aminu scoring eight of the points. The Blazers led 20-12, with Paul scoring all of the Clippers' points. To that point, Paul was 6-for-6 from the field, his teammates 0-for-13. The first non-Paul field goal by the Clippers came on a DeAndre Jordan dunk with 1:43 left in the first quarter.

The Blazers took a 24-20 advantage into the second quarter despite 6-for-22 shooting and four combined points from Lillard and McCollum.

Allen Crabbe's 3-pointer gave Portland a 34-26 lead midway through the second quarter. The Clippers countered with a 10-3 run to get to within 37-36. The Blazers intentionally fouled Jordan, who airballed both free-throw attempts. Portland scored the next five points to go on top 42-36, and the Blazers carried a 47-43 advantage into the half.

The Clippers never took the lead the rest of the way.

The series returns to Staples Center for Game 5 on Wednesday night. The Clippers presumably will be without Paul.

"It changes things a lot -- more so for them," Lillard said. "Their best player goes down, the guy that makes your team go. ... It's unfortunate for one of the better players in the league to go through an injury like that. You don't wish that on anybody.

"It's not like they have guys who can't play. They still have a really good team. Our mindset has to be, nothing changes. We have to have the same approach defensively and continue to trust each other offensively."

NOTES: The Blazers have committed 14 intentional fouls on the series Clipper C DeAndre Jordan, who has shot 10-for-26 (38.5 percent) on the ensuing free throws. The Blazers have scored 19 points after the free throws, giving them a plus-9 net benefit. ... Portland G Damian Lillard scored 12 points, the first time he has failed to score at least 14 points in 20 career postseason games. ... Portland C Mason Plumlee is averaging 15 rebounds and 8.8 assists in the past three games.