Trail Blazers at Lakers
THE STORY: The Lakers, a sterling 13-2 at home, have yet to solve
their road woes, dropping to 5-11 after a 102-90 loss at Phoenix on
Sunday. The Lakers face Portland on Monday at home, where they have
beaten the Blazers seven of the last eight times. Portland is coming
off one of its best performances of the season in a 97-77 victory over
Atlanta. LaMarcus Aldridge had 19 points and 10 rebounds after missing
two games with an injured left ankle.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, TNT, FS West (Lakers)
ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (17-15):
While Portland was happy to see Aldridge, it was guard Raymond Felton
who had one of his best games. He scored 14 points on 6-for-11 shooting
and had eight assists in 33 minutes. “I liked that he was aggressive,”
coach Nate McMillan said. “That is what we are looking for from him. We
know he can do it. ... He looked pretty loose. It was good to see his
shot fall and get some confidence there.”
ABOUT THE LAKERS (18-13):
Pau Gasol has said if he gets traded is out of his hands, but Kobe
Bryant voiced his opinion after losing to the Suns. “It’s just tough for
a player to give his all when you don’t know if you’re going to be here
tomorrow,” Bryant said. “I'd rather them not trade him at all but if
they’re going to do something, I wish they would just ... do it.” Bryant
scored 32 against the Suns, Gasol had 17 and Andrew Bynum 16, but the
Lakers got only two points from Metta World Peace and none from Derek
Fisher.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. The Lakers begin a
crucial final week before the All-Star break as they will also play on
the road Wednesday at Dallas and Thursday at Oklahoma City.
2.
In the loss to Phoenix, the Lakers were beaten badly in fast break
points, 21-6, and shot only 16.7 percent (3 of 18) from 3-point range.
3.
The Blazers would love to get off to the kind of start they did against
Atlanta when they made 14 of their first 18 field goals.