The Los Angeles Lakers are coming their worst loss in franchise history against the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday afternoon. Tonight they hope to revenge that loss against the Portland Trailblazers tonight. Check out our game recap:
1st Quarter
The Lakers started the game with a lineup of Jose Calderon, Nick Young, Luol Deng, Julius Randle, and Timofey Mozgov, while the Blazers countered with Damian Lillard, C.J. McCollum, Evan Turner, Noah Vonleh, and Mason Plumlee.
Both teams started out fast with both teams trading baskets. Lillard, who has torched the Lakers in the past, scored seven points in the first three minutes for the Blazers. Young responded with seven points of his own to help tie the game at 11. A missed Young three-pointer got the Blazers running and good ball movement led to an open three-pointer for McCollum that forced a timeout.
Deng hit a jumper out of the timeout to bring the Lakers within one point, but on the next possession McCollum dazzled his way to the basked for an and-one. Jordan Clarkson entered the game for the Lakers and immediately drilled a three-pointer.
A turnover by the Lakers led to a Blazers layup to increase their lead to eight points with three minutes remaining. Lou Williams answered with a three-pointer for a needed basket, but miscommunication on defense by the Lakers on the ensuing possession led to an Evan Turner basket.
Williams hit his second three-pointer of the game when he was fouled on the shot attempt and was able to convert the free throw. A Blazers missed shot got the Lakers running down the floor leading to a Tarik Black basket to put the Lakers up one.
The Lakers lead the Blazers at the end of the first quarter, 31-30.
2nd Quarter
The Blazers started the quarter well as Plumlee, Allen Crabbe, and Pat Connaughton knocked down shots to give them a 37-33 lead. The Lakers had a few scoring chances of their own, but a little overthinking led to difficult shot attempts.
After a timeout, the Lakers missed two three-point shot attempts by Clarkson and Brandon Ingram and the Blazers responded with two baskets to extend their lead to eight. Ivica Zubac halted momentum when made a nice turnaround jumper over Plumlee. Williams continued his impressive play by knocking down another three-pointer off a pass from Zubac.
On two consecutive possessions for the Blazers, Plumlee used strong moves to get to the basket, including an and-one. Randle showed off his versatility when he took a rebound and went coast-to-coast to cut their deficit to two points with four minutes remaining in the quarter. A turnover by the Blazers on the next possession led to Young getting fouled by Lillard and knocking down two free throws.
Randle used his superior strength against Plumlee and bullied his way for an and-one attempt, but was unable to make the free throw. The Lakers trailed at the end of the second quarter, 59-58.
3rd Quarter
The Lakers started the quarter slow while the Blazers started how they ended the first half, fast. Portland was able to get easy baskets that helped them extend their lead to six points. Walton inserted the second-unit three minutes into the quarter to ignite a spark into the team.
While the Blazers continued to score baskets, the Lakers got their second field goal of the quarter five minutes into the quarter. A turnover led to a Blazers basket on the other to extend the lead to 12 points.
A nice play by Williams led to an easy Zubac basket that was much needed to stop the bleeding, but as been the case for the season, a lapse in defense led a wide-open layup for McCollum on the next possession. Williams was able to take advantage of a Blazers turnover when dribbled past his defender for an easy layup to bring the Lakers within 11 points with fewer than three minutes remaining.
Another Blazers turnover led to Williams getting fouled and knocking down two free throws. Crabbe responded with a long two-point shot stop the mini-run.
Portland led at the end of the third quarter, 83-75.
4th Quarter
Clarkson started the quarter by knocking down two free throws to bring the team within six points, but two straight baskets by Crabbe and McCollum forced a timeout. 11 straight points by Williams brought the Lakers within one point with eight-and-a-half minutes remaining in the game.
Crabbe, who has carried the Blazers in the fourth quarter so far, drilled another long two-point jumper to stop the Lakers momentum. Coming out of timeout, Young drilled two three-pointers to give the Lakers their first lead since the second quarter.
Five straight points for McCollum regained the lead for the Blazers for good as the Lakers finished the quarter with only two made field goals from inside the arc. They had chances to extend their late lead but they were unable to score the basketball when it mattered.
Williams led the Lakers with 31 points while Lillard and McCollum scored 24 points each for the Blazers. The Lakers lose to the Blazers, 105-98.
They try again tomorrow night when they visit the Utah Jazz.
