The Lakers fell to the Trail Blazers on the road, but showed signs of hope in defeat
The Los Angeles Lakers were on the road at the Moda Center on Saturday night to take on a Portland Trail Blazers team that beat them by double-digits less than a week ago. Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum absolutely torched the Lakers in that matchup as LA’s perimeter defense from young players like D’Angelo Russell and Jordan Clarkson continued to flounder in their first meeting and those problems persisted again on Saturday.
McCollum came out of the gate like a flamethrower, single-handedly outscoring the Lakers over the first few minutes of the first quarter. Lillard soon joined the party and the Trail Blazers backcourt had a field day against the Lakers.
Along with the perimeter defense, the same problems persisted for the Lakers. Kobe Bryant continued to be an issue with his isolation-heavy offense that saw him jack up 20 shots on the night and convert on only seven of those attempts. Moreover, the lack of bench-scoring and rim protection in the second unit was a crushing blow for the Lakers as the Portland bench was productive in their roles.
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Obviously, this all led to the Lakers’ 13th loss of the 2015-16 season and their fifth-straight loss overall. With only that in mind, it’d be easy to say that the pessimism in Los Angeles is only growing stronger. However, that’s not wholly the case coming out of this loss on the road to Portland.
For all of their struggles, this matchup with the Trail Blazers was the first time that Lakers fans have seen their trio of the future all clicking on the same night. Clarkson, Russell, and Julius Randle were the top performers for the Lakers on the night, contributing in terms of both scoring, rebounding, and running an effective offense (a rarity in LA this season). Even in another loss, the future still looks bright and Saturday’s performances only provided more reason to have hope, even if the wait is going to be tenuous.
Three stars
Jordan Clarkson again proved to be the Lakers’ best player, finishing the night with 19 points, four assists, three rebounds and four steals while shooting 8-15 from the floor.
D’Angelo Russell, particularly in the second half, was impressive for Los Angeles. The rookie finished with 16 points, five assists and four rebounds on 6-11 shooting from the field and 2-4 three-point shooting.
Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum burned the Lakers once again as duo. Lillard finished with 29 points and seven assists while McCollum added 28 points. The Trail Blazers backcourt combined to shoot 21-39 from the floor and 9-18 from three.
Highlights
Randle's block leads to a fast break by Clarkson
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) November 29, 2015
2nd Quarter on @TWCSportsNet | @TWCDeporteshttps://t.co/ygpxirMbyt
Odds
The Trail Blazers were 8.5-point favorites coming into this game, a spread Portland covered with the 12-point victory. The two teams combined for the push on the 204-point over/under.
Next: Kobe's Role Isn't Going to Change
Next Game
The Lakers will be at STAPLES Center on Sunday evening to play the Indiana Pacers on the second night of a road-home back-to-back.
Portland will take on the Los Angeles Clippers on the road this Monday night.