Blazers knock down Lakers

McMillan: 'We played our best'

By Kerry Eggers

LocalNewsDaily.com, Apr 9, 2008, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (3 Reader comments)

For the Trail Blazers and their fans, this one was a lot of fun.

Leading almost from start to finish, Portland took it to the Los Angeles Lakers 112-103 Tuesday night and made the Rose Garden rock.

It was one of the best victories of the season for Portland (39-39), which had lost five in a row and was in danger of tainting what has been a largely successful campaign. And it was a huge loss for the Lakers (53-25), who are still in contention to finish with the best record in the Western Conference.

“They needed this game to get the best record in the West,” Portland coach Nate McMillan said. “So they brought their best, and we played our best.”

“Coach (McMillan) told us to go out there and play with an attitude and try to mess with some things at the top of the West,” Blazer guard Brandon Roy said. “We did that tonight.”

The Blazers “looked like they were the team that was preparing for the race in the West,” the Lakers’ Lamar Odom said. “We looked like the team that was preparing for a long vacation.”

The Blazers, shorthanded without starters Joel Przybilla (broken hand) and Martell Webster (irregular heartbeat), got double-figure scoring from six players, including backup center Channing Frye, who played his best game in a Portland uniform.

Frye, who came to Portland last summer in the trade that sent Zach Randolph to New York, made 9 of 12 shots from the field and notched season highs in scoring (22) and rebounds (11).

Kobe Bryant scored a game-high 34 points but was only 11-of-26 shooting as Roy, Travis Outlaw and James Jones took turns defending the Laker superstar.

The raucous sellout crowd of 20,435 really got into this one, chanting “Beat LA!” and “Kobe sucks” in the second half as the Blazers — who led by as many as 18 points — scored their second straight win over the Lakers at home this season.

“Everybody gets fired up to play the Lakers — our players, our coaches and the fans,” McMillan said. “You have to play good basketball to beat them.”

Nobody was better than Roy, who scored a team-high 23 points, matched his career high with 12 assists and did a nice defensive job on Bryant.

Roy was the central figure of the most notable moment of the game. With Portland ahead 85-71 in the final minute of the third quarter, he was fouled hard by Lamar Odom going to the basket and fell on his hip hard to the floor. As Roy lay writhing in pain, teammates Outlaw and LaMarcus Aldridge confronted Odom. Words and shoves were exchanged, technicals were issued to Outlaw and Odom and referees ruled it a flagrant foul.

“I don’t think it was a dirty play,” Roy said. “It was a tough foul. I went into the lane and we made contact and I didn’t have any balance.

“My teammates did a good job of coming to my rescue. I really appreciate that. It shows how close this team is.”

Roy said Odom apologized. “I have no hard feelings,” Roy said.

1 | 2 Next Page >>

Facebook	Digg	Del.icio.us
Newsvine	Stumbleupon	Reddit