Julius Randle lead all Lakers in scoring, recording a near double-double of 21 points and 9 rebounds to go with 2 steals. But, the Lakers couldn't find an answer for Damian Lillard's 4th quarter explosion as the Blazers beat the Lakers for the 15th straight time 108-103, snapping the five-game winning streak. KCP also recorded near double-double numbers with 16 points and 9 rebounds. Lonzo Ball cooled off with 10 points and 2 steals, Kyle Kuzma added 11 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 blocks, Brook Lopez added 14 points to go with 8 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. I.T. once again lead the 2nd unit with 19 points and 7 dimes.
Final Score: vs. Portland 108-103 [L]
Full article: http://www.nba.com/games/20180305/PORLAL#/recap
Next Game: vs. Orlando (03/07)
Highlights: *Courtesy of MLG Highlights*
Another game, another loss to Portland. As a fan, when you have a long losing streak to a team such as the Blazers since Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum came into the spotlight, it gets sickening. I.T.'s missed free throw in the final seconds is a big what-if. Even if he made it, the Lakers need to get a clear shot to go for the tie or win it at the buzzer. We can't completely blame I.T. on the missed free throw because the Lakers, outside of the early 1st quarter start and the 3rd quarter weren't that good. Defensively, they didn't put the clamps on until the 3rd quarter. There should've been more on-ball pressure throughout the game as Dame and McCollum were getting all kinds of open looks. The Lakers were also ice cold to start. The one thing that griped me was that they were rushing all kinds of shots when they ballooned their lead over the Blazers to double digits in the 2nd half. The Lakers tried to go for the knockout blow by playing a little hero ball and it backfired on them and I'm sure Dame was licking his chops that the Lakers were settling for rushed shots from beyond the arc. Credit where it's due, he torched the Lakers defense in the 4th quarter. Lonzo had no answer for him on the defensive end. That's when things turned for the worst for the Lakers and they wound up losing to the Blazers yet again. For the namesake of this blog, Dame to the Lakers is what LaDainian Tomlinson was to the Raiders. They just light it up in crunch time. And if you're a Raider fan like I am, I just brought back memories of those times when LT used to torch the Raiders all those years with the Chargers. Dame is doing the same thing and the last 15 games against this team proved that. I'm afraid to say that as long as he's in his prime, I don't think he's going to let the Blazers concede to the Lakers as long as he's around.
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