Live from the Rose Garden as the Portland Trail Blazers go for 10 straight homecourt wins against the Los Angeles Lakers. Tonight would be a bit more festive if Brandon Roy wasn’t—right this very second—giving a press conference to discuss his ongoing hamstring injury. While he has missed 11 of the last 12 games, Roy was supposed to dramatically return tonight and help Portland to victory number 10 against the Lakers.
Not happening.
Roy will sit until after the midseason break, which means he won’t be playing in the All-Star game. The soonest he might return is the 16th against the Clippers, although it might be even later. The scales are evened out some with the news that Kobe Bryant will sit out tonight’s game as well. That’s because he is following the strict code of All-Star player solidarity. Or has an ankle injury. It’s either one of those things.
No Kobe, No Roy, no problem.
PRE-GAME:
The Roy news isn’t an easy pill to swallow, but ultimately it’s the best decision for the team. While keeping this streak alive is fun, the Blazers will need their star player healthy down the playoff stretch. In his place, and nearly just as injured, will be Jerryd Bayless. J-Bay hasn’t really been himself since a quad injury and his minutes tonight will be limited.
If the Blazers win tonight, the streak at home will be enter its fifth year. The last time Los Angeles won in this building was on February 23rd, 2005.
The game has not yet started, but the “BEAT LA” chants are already going.
FIRST QUARTER:
10:58 – Since the Lakers are so much bigger than the Blazers, Lamar Odom is guarding Andre Miller. He is 8″ taller than Miller. 3-2 Lakers.
7:23 – Due to their size, or an acute case of rimaphobia, the Blazers are not going anywhere near the basket right now. It hasn’t been an issue yet since nearly every jumpshot has been falling. This includes a quick, and surprising, eight points from Howard. 12-9 Blazers.
4:42 – Andrew Bynum has left the game. These injuries are contagious. We’ll update you when we find out more. 17-14 Lakers.
2:46 – I love how Howard, the oldest guy on the court, is still the game’s leading scorer. Didn’t see that coming. 21-20 Lakers.
0:09 – Sorry, Juwan. Aldridge just takes over the scoring lead with back-to-back jumpers, and one play later, Nicolas Batum drains a three. Biggest lead of the game for Portland. 29-23 Blazers.
SECOND QUARTER:
10:51- Everything is coming up Blazers. Rudy opens the quarter with a three, and then Howard feeds Dante Cunningham with a nifty bounce pass. He doesn’t convert but was fouled and hits both. 34-28 Blazers.
7:25 – The Lakers look frightened without Kobe on the court to demand the ball. They are a rudderless vessel on offense, which is clearly evident following a possession where they missed four consecutive jumpers under the rim. Meanwhile, Portland is gunning to top Denver’s 15 three-point performance against the Lakers from last night. They still have awhile to go, but are three of six from beyond the arch so far. 39-30 Blazers.
3:56 – Batum with a terrible entry pass and the Lakers trim the lead to a single basket and quite the crowd as well. 41-39 Blazers.
1:43 – Derek Fisher with a driving layup and now the Lakers have the lead. Turns out that all these “BEAT LA” chants do nothing to change the outcome of the game. Good to know. 45-44 Lakers.
0:34 – Bad defense from Portland and Ron Artest hits back-to-back three-pointers. 51-46 Lakers.
0:00 – Oh, it gets worse. Artest heaves up a nearly-50 foot three pointer at the buzzer. All net. Oh boy. 54-48 Lakers.
THIRD QUARTER:
10:27 – Portland comes out of the break with a level of energy sorely lacking in the first half. Bayless scores his first three points of the game in a 30 second span. 58-53 Lakers.
7:46 – Howard and Miller run a fastbreak for a quick score. Well, not fast or quick. It was just a well-timed break. 61-55 Lakers.
6:31 – Bynum out with a hip contusion is the rumor we are hearing on press row. He shall join Roy and Kobe in the injury dogpile. 63-55 Lakers.
4:35 – The Blazers shooting percentage is in a free fall. It’s dropped 19% since the start of the second quarter. Also, Webster seems to have forgotten how to play defense. Ron Artest thanks him for that. 67-59 Lakers.
2:59 – GASOL! MAD! Technical foul for the mouth-breathing Lakers center. It barely changed the score, but that sure got the crowd back into the game. 67-60 Lakers.
0:54 – Artest with another jumper and then Rudy just casually tosses the ball to the Lakers. Well, so much for momentum and getting the crowd back into the game. 71-62 Lakers.
0:01 – Gasol just gets his revenge dunk over Batum. Horrible way to end the quarter for the Blazers. That was just embarrassing. 73-64 Lakers.
FOURTH QUARTER:
11:00 – It’s not that Portland isn’t capable of mounting a comeback in the fourth quarter—they did just that against the Spurs—but their defense has been inconsistent all night. On offense they just seem distracted, as if Roy is going to come streaking down the tunnel from the locker room and save this game. The Lakers are winning in nearly every offensive category, including a dominating 8-to-1 advantage on offensive rebounds. 75-66 Lakers.
8:48 – Well, that streak was nice while it lasted. Hate to be Debbie Downer, but this isn’t looking too promising for the hometeam. Perhaps a timeout a Lady Gaga song on the PA can change things? No? Okay. 78-66 Lakers.
6:21 – Jordan Farmar for three. That’s game, right? Can I go to the St. Vincent concert now? 84-68 Lakers.
5:39 – Shannon Brown is an excellent player. He might be buried on the Lakers’ bench and only brought out for dunk highlights, buit his energy on defense has pestered the Blazers all night, and he has 17 points on the night as well. Oh, and Batum misses a wide-open slam dunk. That about sums it up. 84-70 Lakers.
3:23 – Goodbye fans. People are streaming out of the arena now that a comeback is not in the cards. How Lakers fan of them. 90-72 Lakers.
1:54 – Patty Mills in the game. Ha, take that Lakers. 95-76 Lakers.
0:00 – And that will do it. The streak is dead. Long live the streak. Your final score, Lakers 99, Blazers 82. Tough night, Portland. We’ll be back for Tuesday’s game against Oklahoma City. Have a good night.