Rose Garden A Bed of Thorns

Portland remains the only city that the Los Angeles Lakers cannot seem to win at, losing to the Portland Blazers again, 107-98 at the Rose Garden. The loss makes it 9-in-a-row on the road to the Blazers, who seem to get energized whenever the Lakers come to town. If the Blazers ever figure out the key that makes them play so well against the Lakers, they will be the team to beat for years to come in the NBA. Even Brandon Roy (32 points on 9-11, 13-14 from the line, 6 assists, 5 rebounds) could not find words to describe their mastery over the defending champs. “I wish I knew exactly what it was,” Roy said. “Then we could keep it going. We just play them with a lot of energy, a lot of effort.” The Lakers did not lose because of a lack of effort, it was just that the Blazers would not be denied this night. They shot a red-hot 50.7% from the field, and connected on 32-39 (82.1%) from the free throw line compared to 5-10 (50%) for the Lakers.
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Kobe Bryant (32 points on 14-37, 8 rebounds, 7 assists) struggled again with his shot as the Blazers threw a bevy of different defenders at him. Derek Fisher (15 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist) and Lamar Odom (15 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals) contributed as did Ron Artest (13 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists) and Andrew Bynum (13 points, 12 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 blocked shot) but were outdone by the Blazers backcourt led by Roy, Jerryd Bayless (21 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists) and Andre Miller (17 points, 7 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 steals). The trio were able to penetrate at will and get to the basket with relative ease. Lakers bigs were slow to react and provide help to the flashing Portland guards. And as the Lakers defense began to help choke the inside lanes, Roy took advantage of any defender by pulling up for mid-range perimeter jump shots that hit nothing but net. Every Lakers rally was cut short as Portland was able to distance themselves with key baskets.
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Missing their two starting big men, Portland still managed to out-rebound the Lakers, 42-38. 16-yr. NBA veteran Juwan Howard (8 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists) and LaMarcus Aldridge (8 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists) gave the undersized Blazers more than enough inside presence, as they were able to hold their own against the bigger, stronger Lakers. Portland led by a dozen at halftime, thanks to a 12-6 run capped by a Howard 15-footer to close out the first half. The Lakers managed to creep ever so close in the third quarter closing to 71-74 with 2:28 left in the period. But the Blazers used another 7-0 run to distance themselves once again as the quarter came to a close at 71-81. A 13-3 run to open the final stanza found the Blazers comfortably ahead by 20-points and the chants of “Beat LA” rained down on the weary Lakers. The Lakers tried to play catch-up the rest of the way but it was too large a lead and the game was being played in the inhospitable confines of the Rose Garden.