The Portland Trail Blazers broke their five-game winning streak in a disappointing fashion. Portland fell to the Los Angeles Lakers 107-106 on Monday night and fell to 41-19 on the season. The Lakers are now 21-39 on the season while sporting an 11-21 away record. The season series is now tied.
This just goes to show you that you cannot truly predict what the outcome of a game is going to be. Most Portland fans probably thought this was an automatic win considering that the Lakers have not been playing well at all. To top it all off, the Lakers have generally not been able to win in Portland over the years. You add both those factors together and you probably think that Portland has about an 85%-90% chance of win this ballgame. Unfortunately, the performances and the game was anything but what Portland fans thought they were going to witness.
The Lakers, having nothing left to lose at this point and having multiple players who are getting the opportunity to play minutes, played circles around Portland. The first quarter was the most disappointing quarter for the Blazers this season. The Lakers outscored Portland 33-20 in the first quarter, but it was the way they outscored them that stung. Transition defense was non-existent. The Blazers seemed to walk down the court while a Laker guard was already dunking the ball and running back. There was also the issue of turnovers. The Blazers recorded 20 total turnovers for the night, but had eight in the first quarter alone. Batum had five, LaMarcus Aldridge at four, Damian had four and Mo Williams had three. Second chance opportunities followed by giving possessions away caused the Lakers just jump out on front. Portland outscored LA in the following three quarters and played solid basketball after, but it was almost like last season. Digging yourself into a giant hole early and having to fight your way back the entire game.
The first problem was being able to get stops. Rebounding was non-existent in the first quarter and the Lakers had multiple chances to convert on a possession. Also in the first quarter, were the easy shots that the Lakers were getting. Jordan Farmar, Pau Gasol and Kent Bazemore were getting easy lay-ups and did not have to work hard at all for a shot, while the Blazers seemed to expend a ton of energy just for one bucket on the other end.
Secondly, and probably the most important, were the free throws. The Blazers only shot 58% from the line and missed eight shots, including three by Damian Lillard (one being in crunch time). Everything that had to go wrong did for Portland. Batum missed his first two free throws and that pretty set the tone from the line.
Give credit to the Lakers. They played great defense as they always seemed to have a hand in passing lanes, forced Portland deep in the shot clock and defended the three-point line with extreme effectiveness. They also made shots when they had them. The Lakers shot 50% from three for most of the night, but finished going 8-for-18 and shooting 44%. Either way, whenever the Lakers got an open look from beyond the arc they took advantage of it.
With all of that being said, the Blazers beat themselves. The mental lapse that was the first quarter cost them the whole game. Now, the Blazers played much better basketball the rest of the way. The defense cranked up; there were no longer one-and-done possessions. Portland secured defensive rebounds, started getting higher percentage looks and had a real good shot to win this game down the stretch. Looking at the scoring for each quarter, the Blazers outscored the Lakers by six in the second quarter, four in the third and two in the fourth.
The Lakers did not score make a bucket for six minutes and only got two points from free throws by MarShon Brooks in the fourth quarter. The Blazers had opportunities, but they always seemed to result in a lazy pass or a traveling call.
Portland tied it up at 105 on a Wesley Matthews 13-footer with 1:09 remaining. Portland finally got the stop they had been waiting for all night. Damian Lillard was fouled going to the rim and how two shots. He missed one. However, Lillard was able to get his own rebound. Portland had yet another opportunity. Wesley missed a three-pointer with 0:12 remaining. Kent Bazemore ran down the court and looked to have lost control of the ball. The call was Portland ball, but upon further review they gave it to the Lakers. Kent Bazemore and Wesley Johnson were able to line up an alley-oop and were up by one with 0:06 remaining. Portland had a last chance. Jodie Meeks, to his credit, played phenomenal defense on Lillard as he refused to bite on any fakes Lillard attempted. Lillard was forced to take a contested three-point shot that rimmed off.
The biggest stat of the night was the fast break points. The Lakers had a staggering 32 points to the Blazers 9. That reminds me of the first game against the Rockets this season.
Individually, there were multiple Blazers who had great nights. Robin Lopez finished with 19 points on 9-for-13 shooting, 16 rebounds and 3 blocks. He was the catalyst in what gave the Blazers a shot to win this game. His defense and hustle showed up big time.
Nicolas Batum, who has been rebounding like a fiend recently, finished with 17 points on 6-for-14 shooting, 2-for-5 from three, 5 assists, 2 steals and 15 rebounds. Batum redeemed himself after the bad first quarter he had.
Damian Lillard finished with 20 points on 8-for-19 shooting, 3-for-8 from three and 5 assists. Aside from the missed free-throws, Damian had a solid game.
LaMarcus Aldridge, who is still coming back from injury and getting back into a rhythm, finished with 21 points on 9-for-19 shooting and had 6 rebounds. He had a stretch where he hit three straight shots in the same spot. He is slowly getting his game back.
Take a chill pill Blazer fans and let this one go. Portland will get a day off before taking on the Atlanta Hawks in their first meeting of the season on Wednesday night. This will be the final game in this home stand before the Blazers embark on another evil Texas road trip. Tip-off is at 7:30 p.m. PST at the Moda Center. Stay tuned!