Blazers forward scores 31 as L.A. drops to 6-24 in Portland since Bryant joined team.
Click photo to enlargePortland Trail Blazers forward LaMarcus Aldridge, left, backs in on Lakers forward Pau Gasol in Portland's win Thursday night at home.
PORTLAND, Ore. - The Lakers couldn't blame this one on the NBA's schedule-maker. They had a day off before leaving home. They couldn't blame the weather. It didn't rain and the sun peaked through the clouds now and then.
No, the blame for their 107-96 loss Thursday night to the Portland Trail Blazers rested squarely on the broad shoulders of the guy with the long braided hair flowing from beneath a white headband and the No. 3 on his white, red and black jersey.
Gerald Wallace torched the Lakers, scoring 31 points on 13-for-19 shooting, energizing the Trail Blazers and a sellout crowd of 20,444 at the Rose Garden. He had 10 points in the third quarter, when the Trail Blazers broke open the game.
Add his name to the list of Trail Blazers who have made days and nights miserable for the Lakers over the years. Their loss was their 24th in 30 games in Portland since Kobe Bryant joined the team in a trade in the summer of 1996.
Beat L.A.? Happens almost all the time in Oregon.
"A lot of his points were hustle plays," Lakers coach Mike Brown said of Wallace. "He outworked us. We talked to our guys ... and told them to let him shoot jump shots. He beat us going to the rim. He did a heck of a job getting what he wanted."
The Lakers (4-4) made the most of their twin advantages - Bryant on the perimeter and Andrew Bynum in the paint - in the early going and led until they were outscored 32-18 in the third quarter and trailed 84-74
going into the fourth.Bryant finished with a team-leading 30 points on 13-for-24 shooting, plus eight rebounds and three assists in a little more than 36 minutes. Bynum scored 21 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, and Pau Gasol added 19 points and seven rebounds.
No one else scored more than six points for the Lakers, however. The Trail Blazers' second unit outscored their Lakers counterparts 24-14.
Plus, the Lakers were 0 for 11 from 3-point range, the first time they failed to convert from beyond the arc since going 0 for 9 in a game against the Miami Heat on Nov. 17, 2003. Bryant was 0 for 5 and Steve Blake was 0 for 4.
"We've got to put the ball in the basket," Bryant groused.
The Lakers' poor shooting from the perimeter didn't trouble Brown as much as their porous defense, however. He didn't like the way the Trail Blazers broke them down again and again during the pivotal third quarter.
"I truly believe we're going to score," Brown said. "We scored 96 points and we didn't shoot that well (37 of 79, 46.8 percent). ... We didn't defend (well) or play with a sense of urgency."
And to think, the Lakers blistered the nets in the first half. They shot a scalding 12 of 14 to start the game (85.7 percent), but led only 24-21. They made 15 of 22 (68.2) and led only 31-27 by the end of the first quarter. They made 24 of 39 (61.5), but led only 56-52 at halftime.
Bryant scored 17 points on 8-for-11 shooting in the first half despite playing with a torn ligament in his right wrist, and Bynum added 14 points on 7-for-7 shooting, but the biggest lead the Lakers could manage was only seven points.
The Trail Blazers weren't as hot by halftime, making only 21 of 48 shots (43.8 percent). But the Lakers couldn't contain Wallace, who had 17points on 8-for-13 shooting, and LaMarcus Aldridge, who had 15 on 5-for-8 shooting.
Aldridge finished with 28 points and 10 rebounds, and Jamal Crawford scored 17 points in a reserve role for the Trail Blazers (5-1).
Wallace, Aldridge (nine points) and Crawford (five) sparked Portland's surge in the third quarter. Portland made 13 of 23 shots and held the Lakers to 5-for-20 shooting in the third, turning a four-point deficit into a 10-point lead.
elliott.teaford@dailybreeze.com
twitter.com/ElliottTeaford
Source: http://www.dailybreeze.com/sports/ci_19686520?source=rss
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