10:35 - Channing Frye is a tough cover for Fish to box out and away from James Jones' errant three ball.  Thus, not surprising he couldn't keep the miss from getting putback.

8:11 - Some great D by LO holding position and preventing Aldridge from getting better postition.  With four seconds left, the 2nd year PF is forced to put up a miss. 

6:52 - A 30 second timeout is taken for LO to get something attended to by Gary Vitti (hard to tell for sure, maybe a cut, but it didn't look like anything serious).  In the meantime, Alridge has to switch jerseys for some reason, which brings out a big cheer from the ladies as he gets shirtless.  The music board dude plays "I'm too Sexy for myself" by Right Said Fred.  That's pretty clever. 

5:35 - Timeout on the floor.  I don't profess to know everything about roundball, but I imagine if the Lakers continue to allow Portland to score at a 73% clip, they're going to lose.  Again, I'll never make the Hall of Fame as a coach inductee, but that's just my opinion and I'm sticking to it.

3:13 - Kobe looks to work Roy left, but the reigning ROY takes what's allowed and still blows past, angling a layup to rattle down the cylinder.  23-19 Blazers.

2:24 - Travis Outlaw has an advantage created after Kobe trips while defending, but nothing's open inside.  The ball moves around as the shot clock winds down, and it loks like a shot clock vilation could be looking.  But the rock ends up in Roy's hands with just one second left.  All he requires to sink a three ball.

1:43 - Nice job by Kobe posting up the smaller Roy, getting the position needed to sink the chippie.

1:05 - A very much needed rainbow three falls for Vlad, bringing the Lakers back within four.  Whatever mo' they can grab heading outta this frame would come in more than handy. 

The quarter winds down with the Lakers catching a little luck.  Raef LaFrentz, mostly famous in Blazer land for his contract adding enough cash to jettison Zach Randolph, does a nice job holding his ground under the Portland goal and forcing Gasol into a turnover.  On the other end, he snagged Alridge's missed seven-footer for a second chance opportunity that falls short for the Blazers.  The Lakers aren't gonna be able to count on good fortune, so they'll need to create some good things on their own.  Areas to improve upon would be the board battle (they're currently down 10-8) and D (although, in fairness, the 57% clip the frame ended on for Portland did represent improvement down the stretch).  On with the second quarter.

SECOND QUARTER

11:03 - Farmar kicks off the Lakers scoring for the quarter with a rapid drive to the basket.  Aside from the result (two points accrued), I like seeing Farmar (hpoefully) set a tone where he's more about taking it strong to the hole than firing off long jumpers.  By his own admission, the Bruin's been a little too three happy of late.  Thus, a nice sight. 

10:04 - A wide open three for Sasha cuts the Portland lead back down to a pair. 

9:21 - A VERY errant pass from Farmar sails past Vlad for a backcourt violation.  On the next Laker possession, LO soots Ronny Turiaf a dish under the bucket that's a touch too hot to handle, which leads to a bobble, then Turiaf turning the ball over in an attempt to save it.  It was fortunate neither sequence led to a Portland basket. 

7:44 - A very good sequence for Farmar.  It starts with his snag of Sasha's missed three ball, then driving to draw a questionable blocking foul on LaFrentz.  The Lakers retain possession, with Farmar capping things off with another drive, this time for a sweet reverse layup. 

7:08 - Ronny throws down a "not quite face-forward, not quite reverse, definitely impressive" dunk off Farmar's alley oop to the cutter.

3:44 - Kobe's block from behind on Frye, knocking the ball out of bounds, is eventually wasted.  Working with a shortened clock, James Jones puts up a 14-foot miss, but it's snagged by Roy, who's now got a brand new clock to have fun with.  And I'm pretty sure Jarrett Jack indeed had fun while driving the ball tot he basket.

42.7 - Fish picks up his third foul on Jack's trip to the bucket, putting him on the bench for the remainder of the half.  With 0-2 next to his name to combine with the trio of whistles, it hasn't been the strongest of halves for the Threepeat member.

Good a defender as Kobe is, it's still tough to work on an island in the open court against a player of Roy's skills.  Kobe stays with him for a while, but Roy eventually breaks loose and the help arrives too late to prevent a layup.  LO comes up short on the final possession and it's a 58-47 Laker deficit heading into the half.  The Lakers have brought Portland's overall FG% down to 51%, but the Blazers are still doing too well from behind the line (41%).  They're also winning the rebound battle 22-17, which has played a role in the 11 second chance points.  Roy and Jack are also in need of better overall containment.  We'll see what adjustments are made in the third.

THIRD QUARTER

10:20 - Fish's three ball mirrors Vlad's one possession earlier, cutting the Blazer lead down to 7. 

9:50 - Nice job by Kobe of playing the "cooler head" role after Vlad gets called for an offensive foul.  Vlad's jawwing at the official, but Kobe gets between them and remains calm, helping prevent his teammate from getting out of hand.

"T" on Phil Jackson.  Guess Kobe couldn't get there in time.    

9:37 - Another whistle against Vlad, who's looking visibly annoyed after that fourth infraction called.  It'll be interesting to see if he can remain contained.

8:37 - Beautiful job by Kobe driving the ball inside, then dishing off to a cutting LO for the easy layup after drawing the attention. The bucket cuts the Blazer lead to six and prompts Nate McMillan to call time out.

7:32 - Vlad may have gotten away with one.  I thought he touched the ball after Aldridge's 20-footer went astray.  But either way, it's ruled a Laker ball and the possession results in a Gasol baby jumper.

6:21 - A James Jones three ball is followed up a miss from Vlad from the same distance.  As is often the case, long shot equals long rebound, this time going to Frye, who ends up at the line for the and one opportunity after drawing contact from Fish on the make.  Freebie goes down and the Lakers are staring again at another increasing deficit.

4:48 - Good Blazer ball movement swinging around the perimeter creates a wide open look from downtown for Steve Blake, who barely notices a late closing LO in his direct vision.  Money.  77-61, with PJ calling timeout.  Within the span of about three and a half minutes, the Lakers have gone from climbing back in to being in danger of losing control entirely.  The way this frame winds down could be crucial.

3:58 - Remember how I said the frame's closeout would be important?  Well, A Kobe three (off a beautiful over the shoulder feed from Farmar) on the heels of a made 21-footer is along the lines of what I was thinking when it came to taking the game back.

3:29 - Kobe sinks a pair at the line to the serenade of Blazer fans chanting "Kobe sucks."  Stay classy, Portland. 

3:29 - Aldridge flies in to swat Farmar's layup attempt.  The ball lands just outside Salem.

3:02 - Sasha's steal results in an emphatic dunk by Kobe.  Apparently, the insults didn't particularly throw him. 
 
2:25 - Kobe's at the line again.  This time, it's just thunder sticks.  I guess the fans didn't like the results of insulting The Mamba

1:16 - Bad break for the Lakers on both ends.  Farmar's in-and-out rattling three ball lands in Alrdidge's hands, eventually turning into an and-one for the lad after drawing the foul from LO

41.6 - Farmar's pass to Sasha is a little off, but it doesn't help that Sasha opts to reach for the pass in leiu of moving his feet.  His dribbled attempt to gain possession hits the line.  Blazer ball.

30.9 - A flagrant foul by LO on Roy sparks some brouhaha and general chest bumping on both sides.  LO and Outlaw get called for double T's.  After some time on the court, Roy eventually gets up.  Timeout called.   They show the replay on the jumbotron.  The fall looked terrible.  Glad to see Roy was okay.          

The quarter ends on an 89-73 Blazer lead.  The Lakers looked to be getting back in, but that ended rather abruptly.  The final 2:25 was a 12-2 Portland run and the Laker FG% continues to shrink.  The Laker woes on the glass are still an issue, with the tally ending on a 33-35 spread.  The Lakers need some serious clampdown ASAFP and not a minute later, as well as some offensive cohesion during that same time period, or this one's cooked.

FOURTH QUARTER

9:52 - I cringed when Ronny passed out from point blank range to a camped out Sasha behind the arc.  But the shot went down, so I guess I'm done complaining.

7:51 - Kobe's and one drive ends with a made freebie, bringing the Lakers back within ten.  The ensuing Blazer possession concludes with Ronny drawing the offensive on Frye, coupled by another make from Kobe.  The lead's down to ten, although a goaltending call against Ronny makes it double digit affair once again.

5:37 - The ball keeps swinging around in clockwork fashion for the Blazers, stopping on the familiar sight of Blake in the corner.  His third make from behind the arc.  Portland's lead is now back to 13. 

Out of the dead ball, the "Kobe sucks" chants kick back up again.  These fans really haven't gotten over the 2000 Western Conference Finals.

3:40 - A three ball from Vladdy in the corner brings this once again back under double digits.  Nine, to be exact.  But is it too little, too late?  We shall see.

2:52 - Some pesky D by Sasha results in a swipe off Blake and a trip to the line.  Both attempts go down, putting the Lakers within 7. 

2:20 - Gasol find good fortune seconds 14 seconds after snatching the ball out from under the Blazer goal in traffic.  Robbing Portland of a second chance, Gasol eventually goes to the line after Frye draws the loose ball foul in a tangle for Vlad's miss.  One of two is good. 

44.8 - Roy drives by Kobe and earns the and one courtesy of the foul from Gasol.  Freebie good.  Blazers are back up by 6.

1:36 - Vladdy with another three.  The Lakers are within five.

The clock winds down on a 112-103 Laker loss.  Too much Roy, Aldridge and Frye (all 20+ nights).  Too little Laker D on all parts of the court.  This ain't the luckiest spot in the world for the purple and gold.  That trend doesn't appear to be changing anytime soon.  Thanks for dropping by.  More to come later.

AK