Trail Blazers-Lakers Preview

By ALAN FERGUSON
Posted Feb 20 2012 1:42AM

Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant was unhappy about more than just his team's poor performance in its most recent game.

Given the recent dominance at home against Portland, a visit from the Trail Blazers on Monday night might help Bryant put aside his conflict with management and help the Lakers bounce back from that disappointing effort.

Los Angeles (18-13) trailed by 27 points in the third quarter before attempting to rally in a 102-90 defeat in Phoenix on Sunday. The loss wasn't the only thing that rankled Bryant, who scored 32 points but also committed an NBA season-high 10 turnovers.

He also expressed his dissatisfaction with the Lakers' treatment of Pau Gasol. The forward's name has been in trade rumors for much of this season, and Bryant is seeking closure for his teammate, who is averaging a career-low 16.6 points.

"I wish management would come out and either trade him or not trade him," Bryant said. "It's tough for a player to give his all when you don't know if you're going to be here tomorrow. I'd rather them not trade him at all. If they're going to do something, I wish they would just ... do it. If they're not going to do it, come out and say you're not going to do it."

With no clear plans on Gasol's future, the Lakers will try to bounce back by adding to its mastery of Portland (17-15) at Staples Center. Los Angeles has won 16 of the past 19 matchups there.

The Lakers, though, have also suffered consecutive defeats in the series, including a 107-96 road loss Jan. 5. Gerald Wallace scored a season-high 31 points and LaMarcus Aldridge added 28 for Portland in that victory.

Bryant, meanwhile, finished with 30 points while still dealing with a torn ligament in his right wrist.

That win clinched a 5-1 start for the Blazers, but they're 12-14 since that game. They're also 5-10 on the road, but are coming off one of their most lopsided wins this season, 97-77 over visiting Atlanta on Saturday.

Nicolas Batum continued his strong play as a starter with 22 points, and Raymond Felton had 14 points after failing to score during a 74-71 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday. Aldridge scored 19 after missing the previous two games with a sprained left ankle.

Over his previous 12 games, Felton had averaged 8.3 points while making just 32.8 percent of his attempts but credited his work with a shooting coach for Thursday's performance.

"It felt good, and I think everybody else was happy with it as well," Felton said.

Batum, meanwhile, has averaged 22.8 points on 52.9 percent shooting over his four consecutive starts. He had a team-best 25 points in Portland's previous road game against the Lakers, an 84-80 loss March 20.

Bryant had 10 of his team-leading 22 points during the fourth quarter of that win and enters this game having topped 30 points in consecutive contests. He's averaged 28.3 points in his last four games against the Blazers, but was held to 17.0 on 38.7 percent shooting during the two matchups at Staples Center last season.

Wallace, who has a combined 16 points in the past two games, has averaged 9.3 in nine all-time road games against the Lakers.

Aldridge's 13.0-point average at Staples last season was his second-worst in an opposing building. He averaged 12.5 points in two games at San Antonio's AT&T Center.

Lakers ride huge 1st quarter past Blazers 103-92

By GREG BEACHAM
Posted Feb 21 2012 2:30AM

LOS ANGELES (AP) A day after Kobe Bryant's impassioned tirade about the importance of keeping the Los Angeles Lakers together, they gave a performance that amplified his every point.

Bryant scored 28 points, Andrew Bynum had 14 points and 19 rebounds, and the Lakers roared to a 30-point lead early in the second quarter before holding on for a 103-92 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday night.

Pau Gasol had 16 points and 12 rebounds in his first game since Bryant criticized the Lakers' front office for allowing Gasol to dangle amid the trade rumors that always surround this franchise. Neither star appeared distracted by the Lakers' latest off-court saga, however: Sharp from the opening tip, Los Angeles reeled off a 37-4 run after Raymond Felton's game-opening 3-pointer for Portland.

"The first half is probably the best we've played, particularly defensively," Bryant said. "It was a combination of us doing our job defensively and them being off."

The Lakers led by double digits for the last 40 minutes of their final home game before the All-Star break. For all their public disagreements and inconsistent play, they're still comfortably in the Western Conference playoff picture at 19-13 near the midway point of the 66-game regular season.

Bryant hopes general manager Mitch Kupchak noticed.

After Sunday's loss in Phoenix, Bryant said he wished Kupchak would decide whether to trade Gasol because nearly three months of uncertainty and rumors are affecting the Spanish 7-footer's play. The season began with the Lakers agreeing on a preseason deal to send Gasol to Houston in a three-team trade for Chris Paul, only to have the NBA reject it.

"I'm glad he showed his support for me, to be sure," said Gasol, who has 10 straight double-doubles despite the distractions. "We just need to make sure we're together on this, and we need everybody to be on the same page. We'd all like the peace of mind that we're not going to be moved, but we can't guarantee that."

Kupchak responded by issuing a statement 45 minutes before Monday's game, saying he had to explore all trade options to improve the Lakers, even if Bryant didn't like it. Bryant initially refused to rehash the rant after beating the Blazers, but eventually spoke about being a team leader.

"I can tell when (Gasol) is down, and when enough is enough," Bryant said. "He went through the first phase and kind of played through that and came out of that, and then he gets hit with another one. You can tell he's down, and it's a little hard to overcome. We've got two big games coming up ... and I don't want him thinking about it."

LaMarcus Aldridge and Nicolas Batum scored 18 points apiece but the Blazers couldn't quite recover from the lowest-scoring first quarter in club history. After scoring seven points in the first 12 minutes, Portland got no closer than 10 points late in its fourth loss in six games.

"We definitely started out slow and sluggish," Aldridge said. "We didn't have the same sense of urgency that they had, and it showed from the beginning. They dominated inside with their bigs, and they had great ball movement. I didn't play well tonight. We picked it up in the second half, but it wasn't enough."

The Lakers scored 21 consecutive points during that opening surge and went on to their 14th victory in the last 15 home games. One night after giving up a season-high 63 points in the first half of a discouraging loss at Phoenix, the Lakers yielded a season-low 30 to Portland.

Former Blazers guard Steve Blake hit five 3-pointers and scored 17 points in his biggest offensive game since joining the Lakers before last season.

Portland gradually trimmed the Lakers' lead to 84-74 in the fourth quarter, but Bryant and Derek Fisher returned to the lineup and hit big shots. Lakers fans briefly chanted "World Peace! World Peace!" after Metta World Peace hit four of six free throws when Portland fouled him repeatedly in the final minutes.

"We couldn't have gotten out to a worse start than we did," said Marcus Camby, who had 13 rebounds. "It seemed like we couldn't buy a bucket down there. ... I think we played better in the second half, but when you play with a 22-point cushion, it's really hard to come back."

Portland went scoreless for more than five minutes after Felton's 3-pointer on its opening possession, missing six straight shots. Los Angeles missed its first six shots, but quickly established dominance down low with its two 7-footers.

The Blazers' deficit got ugly while they missed 19 of 21 shots spanning the first two quarters, including another 8 minutes of scoreless play from midway through the first quarter until Batum's three-point play early in the second. Los Angeles went from a 16-7 lead to a 37-7 margin.

The first quarter also was the best defensive performance of the season by the Lakers.

NOTES: Bryant got his seventh technical foul of the season in the fourth quarter for punching the ball away after an offensive foul. If Bryant gets 13 Ts in this shortened season, he will be suspended for one game. ... Fans near courtside included Ashton Kutcher, Anthony Kiedis, Robert Wuhl and directors Steven Spielberg and Michael Bay.

Notebook: Lakers 103, Trail Blazers 92

Posted Tuesday February 21, 2012 1:54AM

By Dan Arritt, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: The Lakers forced the Trail Blazers into a franchise-low point total in the opening quarter Monday night, and back-up point guard Steve Blake scored his most points in a Lakers uniform to lead L.A. to a 103-92 victory at Staples Center.

THE STAT: The seven points the Trail Blazers managed in the opening 12 minutes was not only a franchise low for a first quarter, but also the lowest-scoring point total in any quarter this season, surpassing the 11 points they put up in the fourth quarter of a 74-71 loss Thursday against the visiting Clippers.

QUOTE: "I thought the first quarter and half, we moved the basketball as good as we have all year ... it was fun to watch."
-- Lakers coach Mike Brown

TURNING POINT: Portland point guard Raymond Felton hit a 3-point basket on the first shot of the game but that was the last time the Trail Blazers would lead. They missed 20 of their next 22 field-goal attempts as the Lakers strung together runs of 10-0 and 13-0 to take a 22-point lead heading into the second. The Lakers then scored the first eight points of the second quarter to go up by 30. Portland made a late run but never got back within single digits.

HOT: Lakers center Andrew Bynum keyed the hot start for the Lakers by recording eight points, nine rebounds and an assist in his first eight minutes of playing time. He finished with 14 points and 19 rebounds ... Blake, who played parts of four seasons in Portland and still keeps an offseason home there, scored 14 of his 17 points in his first run with the second unit, hitting all four 3-point attempts ... The Lakers held the Blazers to 30 first-half points, breaking the franchise record for points allowed in a half (31). They allowed 63 points in the first half the night before in Phoenix ... Portland netted seven 3-pointers in the third quarter when they cut a 22-point halftime deficit to 14.

NOT: Portland forward LaMarcus Aldridge, in his second game back since missing two games with a sprained ankle, scored 18 points but shot 6-for-19, his worst shooting night since he went 4-for-14 in a 15-point loss to the visiting Kings on Jan. 24, 2011.

GOOD MOVE: Portland coach Nate McMillan is raising some eyebrows with his minute distribution. He played back-up guard Jamal Crawford a season-low 13 minutes in a 20-point victory Saturday night against the visiting Hawks, but wised up and played him 27 minutes against the Lakers. Crawford finished with 15 points, including a 20-footer that cut the deficit to 10 with 7:58 remaining in the game.

BAD MOVE: Lakers guard Kobe Bryant, the league's leading scorer at 29 points a game, finished with a game-high 28 but also picked up his seventh technical foul of the season, one game short of the halfway mark. If he gets to 13, he must serve a one-game suspension.

QUOTE II: "No excuse for that first-half effort. We knew [the Lakers] would come out aggressive and play hard after their loss last night ... I just didn't feel that we came ready to play."
-- McMillan

NOTABLE: The Lakers have beaten Portland at Staples Center in 17 of the last 20 meetings. They improved to 14-2 at home this season.

UP NEXT: For the Lakers, Wednesday @ Dallas, Thursday @ Oklahoma City, Feb. 29 vs. Minnesota. For the Trail Blazers, Tuesday vs. San Antonio, Wednesday @ Denver, March 1 vs. Miami.

• Trail Blazers: Johnson, Oden
• Lakers: Ebanks

• Trail Blazers: --
• Lakers: Bryant

• Lead Changes: 1
• Times Tied: 0

• Arena: Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA
• Officials: #17 Joe Crawford, #40 Leon Wood, #52 Scott Twardoski
• Attendance: 18997
• Duration: 2:20