After four consecutive battles with the NBA’s elite class, Lakers head coach
Luke Walton felt that a shorthanded Trail Blazers team was “ready to give us
that game.”
But — unlike in their clashes with Cleveland, Golden State (twice) and Houston
— the Lakers didn’t have the right mentality against Portland, losing 95-92.
“I thought guys on our bench were pouting,” Walton said. “I thought that there
was too much feeling sorry for ourselves as opposed to being professionals. …
I just didn’t think we were very in character tonight.”
Walton supposed that his team was tired from playing the day before in Oakland,
but wouldn’t allow that as an excuse (particularly considering that Portland was
also on a back-to-back).
Fatigue was evident in both teams, as each shot poorly from the field. Both
clubs were also missing one of their key players, as Portland suited up sans
leading scorer Damian Lillard, while the Lakers were without Brandon Ingram.
It has been a season of considerable growth for Ingram, who has averaged 17.5
points and 5.3 assists in his last four games. The Lakers (11-20) felt that they
were missing his slashing ability and playmaking on a night of offensive
sluggishness.
“He’s able to get to the rim, and his assist-making’s definitely gotten better,”
Josh Hart said. “He’s able to find his holes and find open teammates. We
definitely missed that.”
Hart did his part stepping into Ingram’s spot in the starting lineup, as the
rookie tallied 11 points and 10 rebounds while playing strong defense all night.
Strong finish in transition by Josh Hart #LakeShow (: @SpectrumSN &
@spectdeportes) pic.twitter.com/RHYwCNClmq
But his teammates couldn’t find that kind of success. Kyle Kuzma and Jordan
Clarkson led the Lakers with 18 points apiece, but the former said he “couldn’t
throw a rock into the ocean” on a night when he shot just 6-of-19.
Meanwhile, Lonzo Ball served up 10 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds, but
shot 4-of-13 and committed five of the Lakers’ 17 turnovers.
L.A. also continued its league-worst free throw woes, shooting 12-of-20 at the
line.
“You’re not going to win in the NBA missing as many free throws as we do,” Ball
said.
Despite the giveaways and poor shooting, the Lakers still managed to give
themselves a shot at victory late in the game.
Down by five with four minutes left, the Lakers embarked on an 8-2 run,
concluded by a big-time 3-pointer by Ball and a trip to the foul line for Julius
Randle.
Randle split his free throws, giving the Lakers a one-point lead with a minute
remaining.
Kuzma appeared to be fouled on a 3-pointer, but no call was given. Then the
Lakers stopped Portland (17-16) from scoring, but allowed Maurice Harkless to
take the lead on a put-back while drawing a foul for a three-point play.
Trailing by three on their final possession, the Lakers drew up and executed a
nice play to get Kentavious Caldwell-Pope a clean look at a game-tying
3-pointer. But the shooting guard was too strong on his attempt, sealing the
Lakers’ loss.
Lakers battle down to the wire but lose to Portland, 92-95.
pic.twitter.com/4jqFWWZvRz
Notes Harkless led Portland with 22 points, while Shabazz Napier had 21. … The
Blazers scored 23 second-chance points. … The Lakers did a good job limiting
C.J. McCollum (7-of-23 field goals) and Jusuf Nurkic (2-of-11). … Rookie
Thomas Bryant made his NBA debut and had one point in four minutes. … A crowd
of 18,997 sold out Staples Center.
A post shared by Los Angeles Lakers (@lakers) on Dec 23, 2017 at 7:00pm PST
Player: Josh Hart
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