Lillard rallies Trail Blazers for tight win over Lakers
Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard, center, shoots as Los Angeles Lakers forward Kyle Kuzma (0) defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, March 5, 2018, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
LOS ANGELES — Damian Lillard scored 19 of his 39 points in the fourth quarter and the Portland Trail Blazers won their 15th consecutive game over the Los Angeles Lakers, 108-103 on Monday night.
Lillard scored 15 in a row for the Trail Blazers down the stretch, giving them a 104-103 with 1:08 remaining by knowing down 1 of 2 free throws.
CJ McCollum had 22 points, and Jusuf Nurkic added 16 points and 16 rebounds.
Julius Randle had 21 points and nine rebounds for the Lakers, who had their five-game winning streak ended. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had 16 points, and Lonzo Ball had 10 points, two rebounds and two assists.
Lillard was 5 of 7 from the floor and 4 of 5 from 3-point range in the fourth quarter.
Isaiah Thomas had a chance to tie it in the closing seconds but was stripped by Shabazz Napier, who then made two free throws. Thomas finished with 19 points.
The Lakers led 80-73 after the third quarter, with Randle scoring nine points and Caldwell-Pope adding seven. Caldwell-Pope knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to put Los Angeles up by 12, the Lakers’ largest lead of the game. Delivering on the defensive end, the Lakers held Lillard and McCollum to a combined six points on 2-of-13 shooting. Portland was 5 of 23 from the field, shooting 21.7 percent in the quarter.
The Trail Blazers opened up an 11-point lead in the first quarter after Ball was called for two personal fouls in the first 5:56. The short-handed Lakers responded by cutting the advantage down to three going into the second, where the trading of runs became more pronounced.
McCollum had seven straight to start the quarter, helping Portland to a 17-8 scoring edge over the first 4:28 and opening up a 46-32 lead, only to see the Lakers answer with an 8-0 run that included consecutive 3s by Kuzma and Ball. The Trail Blazers were up 58-55 at the break, with McCollum scoring 14 of his 17 first-half points in the second quarter.
TIP-INS
Trail Blazers: Lillard was 12 of 25 for the game, including 6 of 11 from 3.
Lakers: Six Lakers finished in double figures, including 14 points for Brook Lopez and 11 for Kyle Kuzma.
UP NEXT
Trail Blazers: Host the New York Knicks on Tuesday.
Lakers: Host the Orlando Magic on Wednesday.
