The Portland Trail Blazers led by as many as 35 points on Thursday night, but it didn’t matter the way Paul Pierce was firing in the fourth quarter.

The Truth tallied 14 of his 19 points during the final frame, including 4-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc, and the Los Angeles Clippers concluded their preseason with a 115-109 comeback victory.

“I felt good. The ball was really coming my way tonight,” Paul said after the win. “I understand my role on this team, and when an opportunity presents itself like it did tonight, I’m going to take advantage of it.”

Portland Trail Blazers v Los Angeles Clippers

Paul played just two minutes in the first quarter while the Blazers raced out to a 45-17 advantage behind a combined 29 points from Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum. That lead hit 35 midway through the second quarter before L.A.’s big three—Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan—combined to score 19 points and cut the deficit to 18 at the half.

“We just stayed mentally into it,” The Truth said. “This is something that shows what this team is all about in the early stage. It’s just our character and our mental toughness. I just told the guys to stick with it, don’t worry about the score, keep chipping away, and we were able to do that and we got the win.”

On orders from The Truth, the Clips kept chipping away. J.J. Redick heated up in the third quarter draining a pair of threes and tallying 12 points. Paul hit his first triple of the game as well, and Los Angeles ratcheted up the defensive pressure. After allowing the Blazers to shoot 61 percent from the floor in the first half, the Clips held them to just 27.3 percent in the third to cut the lead to nine in time for the final frame.

In that final period, No. 34 took over.

LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 22: Paul Pierce #34 of the Los Angeles Clippers reacts to a play against the Portland Trail Blazers during a preseason game on October 22, 2015 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2015 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)

None of Los Angeles’s starting five played in the fourth, as Paul, Wesley Johnson, Austin Rivers, Josh Smith and Pablo Prigioni stayed on the floor for all 12 minutes. Paul dished on a Johnson jumper to start a 6-0 L.A. run to open the quarter. Portland then answered back with a 7-0 run of its own before The Truth stepped in.

Paul went back-to-back-to-back from three to go on a single-handed 9-0 run and cut the deficit down to one. The Blazers clung their lead for several minutes after his flurry, but Rivers and Johnson followed Paul’s lead with four minutes to go. The two went back-to-back from deep to give L.A. its first lead since the opening minutes of the game.

Rivers hit again from deep with 1:44 to go to make it a five-point lead before Paul punctuated the win. The Truth splashed his fifth trifecta with 1:23 on the clock and connected from 17 feet out with 12 seconds left to throw salt on his team’s comeback win.

No. 34 was asked after the game about building a rapport not just with the Clippers’ starting group, but also with that formidable reserve unit, and he said exactly what the team has already shown through the preseason: The already scary Los Angeles Clippers will only get better with time.

“I’m getting better and better,” he said. “It’s going to take time. Everybody is new and getting accustomed to one another. As we continue to practice and play with one another, we’re only going to get better.”

Los Angeles will start its regular season on the road on Wed. Oct. 28 against the Sacramento Kings. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. PT from Sleep Train Arena in California’s capital city.