Trail Blazers 119, Lakers 111
February 29th, 2008, 10:06 pm · 3 Comments · posted by KEVIN DING, OCREGISTER.COM
PORTLAND, ORE. – From Kobe Bryant on down, the Lakers didn’t bring the individual or team defense necessary to beat a talented and hungry team in a loud road house Friday night. The Lakers’ streak of 10 consecutive victories and seven in a row on the road ended in Portland.
When the offensive potency faded in the final minutes, perhaps because of fatigue, the Lakers didn’t have enough to keep up. On one series with Portland up, 109-107, Sasha Vujacic, Derek Fisher and Pau Gasol all missed shots before Bryant threw the ball away. At the other end, Portland forward Travis Outlaw was left alone to drill the mid-range jumper that he and LaMarcus Aldridge rained in all night.
Portland All-Star Brandon Roy (20 points, 12 assists) returned early from an ankle injury and was a titan in a head-to-head game against Bryant (33 points, five assists).
The Lakers struggled mightily with defensive rotations but still entered the fourth quarter with momentum from their typical surge before the third-quarter buzzer. Lamar Odom blocked a Joel Przybilla layup and sprung Bryant for a fast-break dunk. Then Bryant pounced on a Portland backcourt turnover and nailed a 3-pointer to give the Lakers an 87-86 lead entering the fourth.
FARMAR LACKING D
After Phil Jackson said Jordan Farmar’s defense remains a work in progress, Farmar had a lot of trouble at that end of the court; Portland shot 53 percent from the field.
BRYANT WHISTLED AGAIN
Bryant drew his NBA-high 12th technical foul 9:33 before halftime when he and Portland’s Joel Przybilla got double technicals for a dispute after Przybilla’s hard foul on Bryant; Bryant will be suspended a game if he reaches 16 technical fouls in the regular season.
COLD “SUSHI”
Vujacic, whom Jackson jokingly calls “Sushi,” was visibly upset going into a timeout after he missed four of his first five shots. The Lakers missed 12 of their first 13 3-point shots. Vujacic finally hit a 3-pointer with 5:39 to play for a 100-100 tie.
NEXT
Dallas at Lakers, 12:30 p.m. Sunday, KABC/7, KLAC/570.
March 1st, 2008 at 9:40 am
I hope for better play from Fish and Farmar next game. Also, Lakers execution in crunch time once again left a lot to be desired. The desperate and unnecessary 3-pt shots Lakers were hoisting in the last five minutes reminded me of Laker times circa 2003-04 when we lived and [more often] died by the three.
I hope for more close games like this one so that Lakers could gain experience and improve their execution in crunch time.
March 1st, 2008 at 5:24 pm
The Lakers were caught napping by a good team and that’s the way NBA is. No team in the league can be 100% excellent all night all year round, players are human too and prone to fatigue and offnights.
March 1st, 2008 at 10:37 pm
Pau Gasol’s defense and rebounding is a big concern for me when we have to face a team like the Spurs. Teams are beginning to play him physical and take away those easy pick and roll plays and force him to have to create majority of his shots on his own. I can see Tim Duncan having a monster series against Gasol. This is where the Lakers are going to need Bynum to be 100% healthy. If Gasol can not guard Lamarcus Aldridge,then he sure can’t guard Duncan either.