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Los Angeles Lakers: Recap, highlights vs Portland Trail Blazers

By Kenneth Teape

LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 5: Lonzo Ball #2 of the Los Angeles Lakers handles the ball against the Portland Trail Blazers on March 5, 2018 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 5: Lonzo Ball #2 of the Los Angeles Lakers handles the ball against the Portland Trail Blazers on March 5, 2018 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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The Los Angeles Lakers were defeated by the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday night at the STAPLES Center.

All good things must come to an end, and for the Los Angeles Lakers, that was their winning streak. The Lakers entered Monday night’s on a five-game winning streak, as they were undefeated since the All-Star break. That stretch was ended by the Portland Trail Blazers.

The Trail Blazers extended their own winning streak to seven games, as they have won nine of their last 10 games. In addition, they have now defeated the Lakers 15 consecutive times. The Lakers winning streak at the STAPLES Center, which stood at nine games, was snapped. This was the Lakers first loss at home since January 5th to the Charlotte Hornets.

It was a back and forth game tonight, as each team had control at different parts of the game. The Trail Blazers controlled most of the first half, while the Lakers came out strong in the second half. However, it was Portland who gained the upper hand in the fourth quarter to get the victory.

Los Angeles’ defense fell apart in the fourth quarter. After giving up only 15 points in the third quarter, The Lakers surrendered 35 points in the fourth quarter. A large portion of those points was scored by Damian Lillard.

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Lillard scored 19 points in the fourth quarter, including a stretch in which he scored 15 consecutive points for the Trail Blazers, including four straight 3-pointers. Lillard finished the game with 39 points, going 12-of-25 from the field, 6-of-11 from deep and 9-of-12 from the foul line.

C.J. McCollum and Jusuf Nurkic also broke double-figures for the Trail Blazers, scoring 22 and 16 points respectively.

The Lakers perimeter defense let them down tonight. Portland shot 43.5 percent from deep, which was better than their overall shooting percentage. Had the perimeter defense been tighter, the Lakers would have come away winners on Monday night. Portland ended the game on a 22-6 run to steal the victory.

For Los Angeles, their offense wasn’t great. They shot 39.5 percent from the field and 29.7 percent from the 3-point line, numbers we haven’t seen from them in a while. Julius Randle, who scored 21 points, and Ivica Zubac, were the only Lakers to shoot over 50 percent in the game.

Isaiah Thomas really struggled with his shot, as he made only 5-of-21 attempts, going 1-for-9 from beyond the arc. He was 8-of-9 from the foul line, but his miss couldn’t have come at a worse time as he missed the dead ball foul shot with 7.4 seconds remaining in the game.

Highlights

https://twitter.com/Lakers/status/970881674207641600

https://twitter.com/Lakers/status/970868928158183424

Next: 6 Takeaways From Lakers 4-Game Road Trip

With the loss, the Lakers record now drops to 28-35 on the season. They will look to get back into the win column on Wednesday night when they host the Orlando Magic at the STAPLES Center.

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