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 Guard Damian Lillard, who has made a habit of hitting
game-winning shots in his three NBA seasons, scored 16 of his
game-high 39 points over the final 5:12 as Portland rallied from a
seven-point, fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Los Angeles Lakers
98-94.
"He has probably saved four or five games for us by himself as a
one-man show," Portland center Chris Kaman said. "It takes a team,
but big plays keep coming off his back.""
Forward LaMarcus Aldridge added 21 points and eight rebounds as the
Trail Blazers (27-8) won for the 10th time in 12 outings. Forward
Meyers Leonard came off the bench for 12 points and equaled his
season high with 12 rebounds.
Center Jordan Hill matched his season high with 23 points on
10-for-15 shooting and grabbed 11 boards for the Lakers, who went
without guard Kobe Bryant, held out to rest in the second of
back-to-back games.
During a timeout with 5:55 remaining and the Blazers trailing 82-76,
Aldridge beckoned his teammate.
"L.A. was like, 'We got to get it going, we have to take over the
rest of this game,'" Lillard said. "I said, 'I'm with you.' He got
aggressive. I got aggressive."
After Hill sank one of two free throws to make it 83-76, Lillard
went to work. He drained back-to-back 3-pointers to draw Portland
within 85-82.
Aldridge then came through with consecutive buckets to put the
Blazers ahead 86-85. After that came a driving layup and another
3-pointer from Lillard to make it 91-87 Portland with 2:33 to go.
The Lakers (11-24) went back ahead on five free throws -- three by
guard Nick Young, two by guard Jeremy Lin, the latter two points
with 43.3 seconds left for a 92-91 lead.
However, Lillard scored on a backdoor layup with 36.4 seconds
remaining. After Young missed a jumper, the Blazers rebounded, and
Lillard was fouled. His two free throws with 18.9 seconds left gave
Portland a 95-92 advantage.
After a timeout, Lin airballed a 3-point attempt. Aldridge sank a
pair at the line with 12.5 ticks left to up the margin to 97-92, but
Lin scored on a driving layup to cut the lead to 97-94 with 7.7
seconds to go.
Lillard -- who finished 12-for-21 from the field, 4-for-8 from
3-point range and 11-for-13 at the line -- wrapped it up by making
one of two foul shots with 6.7 seconds left.
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"He got hot," said Lin, who had 14 points in 21 minutes off the Los
Angeles bench. "We didn't do a good enough job in terms of
disrupting him, sending guys at him to contest his threes. He hit
tough shots, too. He hit one where he double-clutched and threw it
in. You have to tip your hat."
Lillard scored 15 points to stake Portland to a 47-45 halftime lead.
He got first-half help from Kaman (eight points, nine rebounds,
three blocks) and Leonard (eight points, four rebounds).
Hill, who had 12 points on 6-for-7 shooting at the break, scored on
back-to-back buckets to key an 11-1 spurt as the Lakers went ahead
63-55 midway through the third quarter. Los Angeles was on top 73-70
going into the final period.
The Lakers were ahead by six before Leonard converted a four-point
play to make it 76-74 with 8:58 remaining.
NOTES: Portland G Damian Lillard's season scoring high is 43 ...
Lakers G Ronnie Price left the game after taking an elbow to the
face from Portland F Thomas Robinson. Price sustained 11 stitches.
... Lakers coach Byron Scott said he was numbed by news of the
Monday death of Alina Kupchak, the 15-year-old daughter of Los
Angeles GM Mitch Kupchak, after a lengthy, unspecified illness. "It
just tells you basketball isn't that important," Scott said. "For
all of us who have kids, especially fathers who have daughters, it's
unimaginable. That's not supposed to happen. Our hearts go out to
Mitch and (wife) Claire." ... Portland coach Terry Stotts was named
Western Conference Coach of the Month on Monday. The Blazers went
13-3 in December. "Sounds cliche, but it's a team award," Stotts
said. ... The Lakers played without G Kobe Bryant, who was left in
Los Angeles to rest after playing 32 minutes -- and hitting the
game-winning shot -- against Indiana on Sunday night. ... Also
missing was F Wesley Johnson, who hurt his right hip against the
Pacers. "He could be back by as early as the end of this week or
early next week," Scott said.
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