Kobe Bryant stars as Los Angeles Lakers crush Portland Trail Blazers 103-92 - NBA Recap
Just a day after Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant slammed the team management for not handling Pau Gasol’s trade issue smartly, the team put up a performance that is definitely going to heighten his stance.
Lakers, with the help of a fantastic first quarter, overpowered the Portland Trail Blazers 103-92, to augment their record to 19-13. Bryant marshalled the offense with a game high 28 points on 13 for 26 from the floor, while the
reserve Steve Blake pounded 17 on an a 5-for-6 effort from downtown.
Andrew Bynum had 14 points and 19 boards while Gasol, who seemed much relaxed tonight, completed his 10th consecutive double-double, scoring 16 points and 12 boards.
"I'm glad Bryant showed his support for me, to be sure," said Gasol post game, "We just need to make sure we're together on this, and we need everybody to be on the same page. We'd all like the peace of mind that we're not going
to be moved, but we can't guarantee that."
LaMarcus Aldridge and Nicolas Batum both led the Blazers with 18 points each and had a combined 14 boards between them whereas Jamal Crawford netted 15 points on 2 for 5 from long range.
Lakers started the game dominantly with a 16-5 run and then changed gears further in the ensuing passage , rattling another 13-2 burst, capped by Bryant’s reverse layup, to end the quarter with a mammoth 22 point lead, 29-7.
An 8-0 run in the starting minutes by Lakers boosted their lead to 30 points and hence put them in a completely commanding position. Blazers managed to score quickly in the next few minutes, but the mammoth deficit never allowed
them to get close to Lakers.
By the end of the first half, the Trail Blazers found themselves trailing behind 22 points 52-30.
Portland showed some urgency in the third quarter and outscored their opponents 36-28, however they still failed to get themselves back in the game, as the Lakers were still comfortably ahead by 14 points 80-66. Nothing changed
much in the deciding quarter as the Trail Blazers never really recovered from their initial slump.
"We definitely started out slow and sluggish," Aldridge said. "We didn't have the same sense of urgency that they had, and it showed from the beginning. I didn't play well tonight. We picked it up in the second half, but it was
not enough.”
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