9:10- Kobe draws Przybilla's second foul, sending him to the bench.  Thus far, the Lakers have had very little difficulty penetrating and working the ball into the lane.  He makes them both.  8-4 LAL.

6:45- Gasol, after backing Frye down on the previous play and hitting a little baby hook over him, tries the same move again.  He misses the shot, but was able to push Frye down off the left block, then move himself into position for that high percentage baby hook.  Good sign that he's feeling okay. 

Meanwhile, though, the Blazers have hit three straight threes, and have a 13-10 lead.

Make that four, as Outlaw gets his third.  Kobe slow to close on that one.  Rad was guilty once, another came off a turnover.  Need to shore that up.

Timeout on the floor- I don't think PJ was thrilled with the D, or how they were closing on shooters.  Specifically, that they weren't.  Out of the TO, Ronny comes in for Pau.  It'll be interesting to see how long it takes for Gasol to come back.  It'll depend on how he feels, I'm sure, but they'll be cautious.

4:50- Another triple for Portland, and it's 21-13. 

4:20- Frye hits from downtown.  Turiaf was picked off by a Blazer in the lane, and didn't get anywhere near contesting the shot.  On the other end, Vlad turns the ball over.  Ugly start for Vladdy.

3:35- Kobe makes a pair of FTs, and the Lakers are down 23-17.  Walton in for Vlad Rad.

2:49- Timeout on the floor, Blazers up 25-17.  Obviously Portland is killing LA from downtown (5-10 from beyond the arc, and Steve Blake was about two inches from making it 6-10, but had a foot on the line a couple trips back).  It seems to me the Lakers are taking a few too many chances defensively, and have been burned a couple times.  On the other end, they've turned the ball over five times, which is obviously not a great recipe for success.  Portland has 20 FG attempts, while the Lakers have 12.  Five offensive boards for Portland helps there, too.

END OF THE FIRST:  Bad sequence to end the quarter.  The Lakers give up the long rebound to Aldridge, eventually get another stop, but then Ronny throws the ball away (on a super athletic play from Outlaw) and is forced to foul to keep the Blazers from getting the easy hoop.  Saves a point, as Outlaw misses one of two.  A home run pass from Walton to Odom just misses, and after a desperation heave from Portland falls short... we have a 31-26 Portland lead.  Much of the same stuff that has plagued the Lakers during the season and of late has hurt them here.  Turnovers (7), three pointers allowed (6), offensive boards allowed (6).

Gotta do better.

AK with the second. 

SECOND QUARTER

11:02 - A nice nurst of speed helps Farmar shift into fifth gear heading to the bucket, allowing him to blow past any and all Blazers for the uncontested layup.

9:35 - A drive to the lane by Kobe results in contact from James Jones and a pair hitting nothing but nylon.  The score's now 33 apiece and the Lakers have been on a 7-2 run since the frame began.

8:28 - Some inside-outside ball movement swings the rock over to James Jones, who's given plenty of time to drain a trey as Farmar doesn't come anywhere near closing in. 

7:21 - Sergio Rodriguez has way tooeasy a time freelancing through the paint, worming his towards the bucket and sinking the layup.

5:58 - LO will get the assist on Walton's three ball, but the assist before the assist came from Sasha, who took the ball at the rack, then wrapped the ball to Lamar under the basket.  Ball gets passed out one more time to Walton, who's got a clean, makeable look.

5:46 - The timeout concludes with Fish, Vlad and Kobe reentering the game.  In particular, the third cat seemed pretty darn missed during his time on the bench.

4:42 - Very pretty move by Lamar from the top of the arc.  Fakes the shot, then puts the ball on the floor for a couple bounces, three steps and the reaching layup.  The bucket also puts Lakers up by a point for a moment, but a three pointer from Rodriguez drops them back down a deuce.

3:02 - Good two man game working between Fish and LO to help Lamar post up.  The ball pushes back and forth between the two as LO keeps getting better position, and eventually leaves Aldridge with nothing he can do to stop him.

1:16 - Tough call against Fish.  I thought he got away with the strip against Alridge, but the ref apparently took exception with my eval.  For what it's worth, Fish took clear exception to his exception, but managed to walk away with nary a sound uttered.

13.6 - Another tough call, this time against Vlad.  The contact while shading Outlaw was fairly minimal, but it was enough to warn the kid a trip to the stripe.  One of two fall, putting Portland ahead by a deuce. 

7.7 - Kobe does his thing to bring us back to square, immediately driving the lane and drawing the whistle at LaFrentz's expense.  After the Lakers snare a little luck (James Jones should have NEVER been left so wide open, much less so open to throw up an airball), they'll head into the locker room at 50 all.  The 41% Portland's shooting is down by a few points, so that's a nice thing.  Unfortunately,  they've allowed about the same clip behind the arc, which has allowed Portland to continually remain a step or so ahead.  They're also losing the rebound battle by a trio.  We'll see if they can make the adjustments when the third's on display.  BK will be on it.   

THIRD QUARTER

Lakers start with two good stands, the first running down the clock on the Blazers and forcing them to take a bad shot.  Then after a Gasol turnover on the outlet, they force a TO of their own.

Next trip, Portland tkes the clock down to four, and Outlaw hits a tough look.  Looks like they have a little more intensity on that end in Q3.

9:50- Fish hits a three, and the Lakers have a three point lead, 56-53.

9:13- Timeout on the floor, Lakers up by five as Kobe hits a nifty little scoop shot after getting ( I think) Outlaw in the air on a pump fake.  But it wasn't the ordinary up and under, since he was still about 10 feet from the basket.  One big step, a shove off the ground, and a finger roll from about four feet.  That's a lot tougher than he made it look.

8:40- The Lakers continue to do a much better job on the defensive end. They're switching better, getting on guys faster, and generally making Portland work much harder to get a shot.  TOs also kept to a minimum, and since they're getting to the rack effectively, Portland hasn't had many easy chances on the other end to run out. 

7:20- Pau hits two FTs, and it's a five point Lakers lead, 60-55.

4:38- Lakers force another Portland TO, and have a chance to push what has grown into a 10 point lead.  While the Blazers have missed some shots, there's no question the Lakers have really cranked up the quality of play on the defensive end.  Much crisper, more intensity. 

Lakers 69, Portland 59.

2:37- The Lakers have held Portland to 13 points in the quarter.  Kobe is playing a very quiet but extremely effective game.  20/10/6 currently, with only 1 TO balanced by one steal.  He's attacking tonight, and doing most of his damage from the line.

Out of the TO, Farmar and Turiaf are on teh floor.  Walton in for Rad about a minute ago.

1:30- Lakers force a 24 second violation.  Solid work.  Up by eight, 71-63.

END OF THE THIRD:

Great quarter for the Lakers who outscore the Blazers 23-13 in the quarter, clamping down in a big way on the defensive end.  They forced Portland to take a lot of bad shots deep in the clock, while managing the game well on the offensive end.  Another 12 minutes like that, and they'll be able to put a W in the books.  If it doesn't happen, blame AK.  He has the fourth.

FOURTH QUARTER

11:13 - A tap back from Kobe to Farmar helps make up for Sasha's miss from behind the arc.  For his turn at the shoot, Farmar comes in about half the distance Vujacic had been stationed, and this time, it's a better result. 

9:39 - A little bit of aggression and a little bit of luck coincide to form Farmar's layup.  With the clock running down, Farmar takes it strong to the hole, but too many Blazer bodies come together in front of the goal.  Shot altered.  Shot missed.  But as luck would have it, the errant shot lands right back in Farmar's hands.  The ball goes back up with a second left.  This time it's two points.

7:37 - Kobe's three forms the rearranged scoreboard, one in the Lakers favor at an 86-68 mark.  That could be the dagger the Lakers were seeking, assuming they do the needed work from here.  The Lakers have taken the third quarter defensive momentum and run with it during this final frame.  They entered the quarter having knocked the Blazers down to 36% and have held them to around 40% since.  And in the meantime, they've been knocking them down at around 50%.

5:15 - Of course, just as I write that statement praising the D, the Blazers conclude three possessions with the same amount of makes.  The Laker lead's dipped from 18 to 10.  I should probably refrain from giving anything much in the way of props until the game's done.

5:00 - Kobe jumps the passing lane between Blake and Webster, nearly coming up with the swipe.   Unfortunately, "nearly" doesn't get you much, as the ball goes back into Blake's mitts with Kobe off-balance.  This leaves Webster open for the trey.  Of course, Kobe's not really the type to leave business gone bad in his direction unfinished.  Thus, the back-to-back three balls as an answer.

2:02 - Ginormous trey from Vlad off the little flick pass from Gasol.  Just enougf space to get it off.  Just enough points to put the Lakers up by 13.

1:18 - Outlaw's 22-footer took the lead back down to 11, but before Portland can look to chip away further, Fish answers with a basket of his own.  The make was one foot shorter than Outlaw's, but counts for the same amount of points.  Lead back to a baker's dozen as the Blazers call time out.

1:01 - During a timeout, BK comments that he's surprised Gasol is still in the game.  His coach must have heard, because Mbenga takes the floor to kick off the action.

Portland's final possession sees Vlad bat away Blake's pass into the middle, Mbenga push it a streaking Kobe's way, and Bryant scooping up the ball and dribbling out the final seconds.  Lakers 104, Blazers 91.  A terrific effort from 36/13/7 night for Kobe, with four starters also in double figures to help compliment his stats.  More importantly, Gasol's return tp the mix went off without a hitch.  Some obvious rust in his actual, but he was moving nicely and without any visible stiffness or trepidation.  The Blazers may not be a joke, but especially without Roy, they're a team the Lakers should beat.   That's what they did.  More to come later.  Thanks for dropping by.