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Lakers' Offense Quiet In Loss Against Blazers

Just two days after racking up 130 points in an overtime win over Minnesota, the Lakers’ offense went from deafening to silent against Portland.

They ended up scoring 49 fewer points this time around, as the Trail Blazers padded their postseason odds with a 97-81 win.

While the Lakers' offensive struggles was at the core of the loss, head coach Luke Walton was more concerned with the 37 points they allowed in the third quarter.

"Our defense slacked in that third quarter," Walton said. "The message at halftime to the guys was even though we couldn't make any shots and we had only scored (32) points (at halftime), we were in th ball game still. ... Every time that we messed up a coverage or we misread a situation, Portland ... made us pay for it."

The Lakers (21-52) had a rough shooting night from every location, as they hit just 39.3 percent from the field while going 5-of-21 on 3-pointers and 10-of-17 on free throws.

Considering that Portland (35-38) also hauled in 19 more rebounds than the Lakers, there was little opportunity left to take advantage of the Blazers’ similarly poor shooting, as they hit just 40.4 percent themselves.

The Lakers never found their rhythm and went to halftime down by eight.

Portland pushed its lead to 10 late in the third quarter before rolling off 11 unanswered points led by Damian Lillard, who scored 22 points, though needed 20 shots to do so.

L.A. never pulled within double digits from there, despite D’Angelo Russell providing 22 points while Tyler Ennis added 14 points with four steals.

“I think everyone was in the position to score and make plays on the offensive end,” Russell said. “We just didn’t take advantage of it. I guess I made shots, but I didn’t really think I did too well either.”

With Brandon Ingram — who had scored double figures in 10 straight games — out due to patellar tendinitis, the Lakers found themselves with one fewer weapon on a rough night.

Jordan Clarkson — who dropped a career-high 35 points on Friday — hurt his hand in the first half, as he finished 4-of-16 from the field for 10 points, although he added seven rebounds and six assists.

This absence of firepower allowed the Blazers to sweep the Lakers for the third straight season, as Portland has now won six of its last seven games.

Notes
Corey Brewer (three points, 1-of-5) started in place of Ingram. … David Nwaba shot 4-of-4 for nine points. … Portland had a 61-42 rebounding advantage led by Noah Vonleh (14), Jusuf Nurkic (13) and Al-Farouq Aminu (10). … The Lakers had just one offensive rebound. … An audience of 18,698 was in attendance at Staples Center.