The Rose Garden has not been a kind place for the Lakers- ever. I mean, as far back as I can remember, the Lakers have struggled playing on the Blazers home court (yes, I do know kobe won a game in overtime by hitting those two ridiculous shots). With the Lakers fresh off a loss to the talented but lowly Clippers, this was the last arena they needed to visit. Could they finally get a win after 8 straight losses? My money is on YES.
First Quarter
The Blazers have taken advantage of lackadaisical starts by the Lakers in a majority of the 8 wins they have posted. I’m not going to say we had a bad start, but it’s a good thing that #24 wears purple and gold. Kobe was awesome as usual, hitting an array of shots from deep. Fisher played a decent offensive first, but was handled on D by Bayless who made him look older than he really is. Unfortunately, the Blazers were able to upstage the Lakers and feed the crowd by hitting a ridiculous amount of (semi) contested outside jumpers. Bayless in particular was lights out from deep hitting what seemed like 10 shots from the strong-side corner. I’m not sure I can totally fault the Lakers D, as the other chunk of the outside shooting fell to Martell Webster who is Kobe’s man. I’m sure that Kobe is roaming the lanes as usual and the adjustment will be made in the coming quarters.
Second Quarter
With the Blazers fast start and the crowd already into the game, it was sure to be an uphill battle for at LEAST the next 12 minutes. The Lakers were not really getting anything going offensively for the second consecutive quarter. The ball was definitely not working inside out, and although they were displaying some grit and hustle on both sides of the court, it wasn’t what I would call great basketball. Everyone was forcing outside shots and it just wasn’t pretty. On the flipside, the Blazers were running the Lakers off the court and completely outhustling them under the hoop on offense. End result? Fat run by the Blazers, which saw our beloved but currently injured and flawed LA Lakers down 12 at the half.
Third Quarter
I have to admit that the Rose Garden is the loudest, most Christmas sweater-y (is this just a Portland thing? I mean, really. SWEATER LAND) infused building the Lakers play in every year (pre-playoffs). Thankfully, the Lakers were able to silence some of the sweaters by hitting a ridiculous amount of threes. Fisher and Artest were able to shore up the perimeter game and strangely enough, opened up the inside for Bynum who hit some tough, tough shots. Eventually, foul trouble and aggressive play along with some ridiculously tough makes helped Portland jump out to a double-digit lead. This quarter was frustrating for two reasons: 1.) the Lakers put up a great charge and got the game relatively close and 2.) the defense is competing and playing decent(from what I can see on a first viewing), but the Trailblazers are just hitting contested jumper after contested jumper.
Fourth Quarter
The fourth quarter opened up with both teams shooting a combined 2-15. Unfortunately, the Lakers ended up in the penalty early and the Blazers shot free throws for most of the quarter. Kobe was the only Laker other than maybe Bynum that seemed actively engaged in the game. That being said, entering the quarter down 10 and playing so poorly ended up in a 20 point deficit… not really much you can do from there. There was a valiant push around the 4 minute mark were the lead was cut to 7, but it wasn’t enough. The Blazers eventually sealed the game on a backdoor cut for Brandon Roy with about 30 seconds left.
Sadly, this would game would end like the previous 8 others in Portland, with a tough loss and a lot of second-guessing. Fortunately, this is a game before the All-Star break and we’re down Pau and Luke. Try to take this loss with a grain of salt Lakers Nation, we’ll see them again!
Final Score LAL 98 – POR 107
Box Score
Popularity: unranked
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