Terrible defense in the second half led to the Los Angeles Lakers losing again at the Rose Garden, falling 107-96 Thursday night to the Portland Trail Blazers. The loss was the Lakers' 17th in their last 21 regular season games in Portland, and dropped the team to 4-4 on the season, including 0-3 on the road so far this season.
Andrew Bynum scored 21 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and had three blocks for the Lakers, his fourth double-double in as many games this season. Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 30 points on 13-for-24 shooting.
Apparent Hall of Famer Gerald Wallace absolutely destroyed the Lakers by constantly beating them up and down the floor, scoring 31 points on 13-for-19 shooting on the night. LaMarcus Aldridge scored 28 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for Portland, who improved to a conference-best 5-1 record.
The game was tied at 66-66 with 6:27 remaining in the third quarter, but Portland took advantage of a completely absent transition defense for the Lakers for a 10-0 run over the next four minutes. Portland outscored the Lakers 32-18 in the third quarter and took an 84-74 lead into the final period.
In the third quarter the Lakers shot 25% (five for 20) from the field while the Blazers shot 56.5% (13 for 23), including three of four from three-point range.
Jamal Crawford scored 17 points off the bench for Portland. The Lakers' bench combined for 14 points on five-for-24 shooting (20.8%). The Lakers on the night missed all 11 of their three-point attempts.
The Lakers return home Friday night for the second game of a back-to-back set, hosting the Golden State Warriors.
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