AI
Wednesday, April 07, 2004 10:40:17 PM
.<font color=red>Blazers:</font> Trail Blazers 91, Lakers 80
By JOHN NADEL
The Associated Press
4/7/04 8:41 AM
Zach Randolph scored 22 points,
grabbed nine rebounds and dished out
five assists in 32 minutes Tuesday
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The Portland Trail Blazers find themselves in a playoff mode earlier than usual this year.
Damon Stoudamire scored 24 points, and Zach Randolph had 22 points, nine rebounds and five assists Tuesday night as the Blazers defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 91-80 to give their postseason hopes a boost.
"This is definitely a game that we needed -- a big game," said Derek Anderson, who had 17 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. "But our games now, it's like every game we need. So this is like coming in the playoffs and trying to get a win. And we did that."
The Blazers (40-37) won for the 10th time in 14 games to move within a half-game of Utah for the final Western Conference playoff berth. Portland and Denver are tied for ninth place.
"This was a high-level game for us from start to finish," Blazers coach Maurice Cheeks said. "We talked about it being a playoff game for us, really."
The Blazers are in jeopardy of missing the playoffs for the first time since 1982, having qualified in each of the last 21 years.
"We just know how important these games are," Randolph said. "This is a big momentum boost for us, beating one of the best teams."
The Lakers didn't fit that description in this game. The loss was their second straight following an 11-game winning streak, and put a damper on their hopes of gaining the conference's top seed in the playoffs.
"They outreacted us and that's what basketball is about," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "Whoever reacts the best wins the game."
The Lakers (53-25) are in third place in the West, 1½ games behind Sacramento, one game behind Minnesota and a half-game ahead of fourth-place San Antonio.
The Lakers and Timberwolves have four games left; the Kings and Spurs five.
"Tonight was terrible," Karl Malone said. "The bottom line is we didn't play the first quarter. That's when the tone was set."
Stoudamire made three 3-pointers, Randolph added six points and Darius Miles and Dale Davis scored four each during a 25-2 run that gave the Blazers a 33-15 lead, prompting boos from the home crowd and putting Portland ahead for good.
Even though the Lakers played one of their worst games of the season, they drew within six points early in the fourth quarter. But Stoudamire made a 3-pointer to trigger an 11-0 run, giving the Blazers an 82-65 lead with 6½ minutes left to put the game out of reach.
Miles added 14 points and six rebounds for the Blazers, who shot 50 percent.
Shaquille O'Neal led the Lakers with 17 points, 12 rebounds and three blocked shots, but went 3-of-10 from the foul line. Kobe Bryant had 12 points, six rebounds and eight assists, shooting 5-of-23.
Gary Payton also had 12 points, and Malone and Rick Fox added 11 each for the Lakers, who shot 39.7 percent.
"After the first quarter, we were fighting an uphill battle," Bryant said. "It was just one of those nights. The ball was slipping through our hands. We were missing a lot of easy shots. We just have to put this behind us."
Notes:@ The Blazers led 37-21 entering the second period. Their 37 points were the most they've scored in a first quarter this season and the most the Lakers have allowed in an opening period. ... Jackson hopes Kareem Rush (injured right foot) and Horace Grant (hip flexor strain) will be ready to come off the injured list and play Friday night against Memphis. Grant sounded less optimistic. "I'm like this," he said, fingers crossed on both hands. "I did a little bit yesterday. It went well. (But) I woke up, it was pretty sore." He said he felt better after stretching, but didn't do any work Tuesday. ... The Lakers play two of their last four games at home, with road games Sunday at Sacramento and Wednesday at Portland. ... The Blazers play three of their last five at home, but making the playoffs figures to be tough considering they play the Lakers, at Denver, and twice against streaking San Antonio.
http://oregonlive.com/sportsflash/blazers/index.ssf?/newsflash/get_story.ssf?/cgi-free/getstory_ssf.....
GO BLAZERS GO!!!
By JOHN NADEL
The Associated Press
4/7/04 8:41 AM
Zach Randolph scored 22 points,
grabbed nine rebounds and dished out
five assists in 32 minutes Tuesday
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The Portland Trail Blazers find themselves in a playoff mode earlier than usual this year.
Damon Stoudamire scored 24 points, and Zach Randolph had 22 points, nine rebounds and five assists Tuesday night as the Blazers defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 91-80 to give their postseason hopes a boost.
"This is definitely a game that we needed -- a big game," said Derek Anderson, who had 17 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. "But our games now, it's like every game we need. So this is like coming in the playoffs and trying to get a win. And we did that."
The Blazers (40-37) won for the 10th time in 14 games to move within a half-game of Utah for the final Western Conference playoff berth. Portland and Denver are tied for ninth place.
"This was a high-level game for us from start to finish," Blazers coach Maurice Cheeks said. "We talked about it being a playoff game for us, really."
The Blazers are in jeopardy of missing the playoffs for the first time since 1982, having qualified in each of the last 21 years.
"We just know how important these games are," Randolph said. "This is a big momentum boost for us, beating one of the best teams."
The Lakers didn't fit that description in this game. The loss was their second straight following an 11-game winning streak, and put a damper on their hopes of gaining the conference's top seed in the playoffs.
"They outreacted us and that's what basketball is about," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "Whoever reacts the best wins the game."
The Lakers (53-25) are in third place in the West, 1½ games behind Sacramento, one game behind Minnesota and a half-game ahead of fourth-place San Antonio.
The Lakers and Timberwolves have four games left; the Kings and Spurs five.
"Tonight was terrible," Karl Malone said. "The bottom line is we didn't play the first quarter. That's when the tone was set."
Stoudamire made three 3-pointers, Randolph added six points and Darius Miles and Dale Davis scored four each during a 25-2 run that gave the Blazers a 33-15 lead, prompting boos from the home crowd and putting Portland ahead for good.
Even though the Lakers played one of their worst games of the season, they drew within six points early in the fourth quarter. But Stoudamire made a 3-pointer to trigger an 11-0 run, giving the Blazers an 82-65 lead with 6½ minutes left to put the game out of reach.
Miles added 14 points and six rebounds for the Blazers, who shot 50 percent.
Shaquille O'Neal led the Lakers with 17 points, 12 rebounds and three blocked shots, but went 3-of-10 from the foul line. Kobe Bryant had 12 points, six rebounds and eight assists, shooting 5-of-23.
Gary Payton also had 12 points, and Malone and Rick Fox added 11 each for the Lakers, who shot 39.7 percent.
"After the first quarter, we were fighting an uphill battle," Bryant said. "It was just one of those nights. The ball was slipping through our hands. We were missing a lot of easy shots. We just have to put this behind us."
Notes:@ The Blazers led 37-21 entering the second period. Their 37 points were the most they've scored in a first quarter this season and the most the Lakers have allowed in an opening period. ... Jackson hopes Kareem Rush (injured right foot) and Horace Grant (hip flexor strain) will be ready to come off the injured list and play Friday night against Memphis. Grant sounded less optimistic. "I'm like this," he said, fingers crossed on both hands. "I did a little bit yesterday. It went well. (But) I woke up, it was pretty sore." He said he felt better after stretching, but didn't do any work Tuesday. ... The Lakers play two of their last four games at home, with road games Sunday at Sacramento and Wednesday at Portland. ... The Blazers play three of their last five at home, but making the playoffs figures to be tough considering they play the Lakers, at Denver, and twice against streaking San Antonio.
http://oregonlive.com/sportsflash/blazers/index.ssf?/newsflash/get_story.ssf?/cgi-free/getstory_ssf.....
GO BLAZERS GO!!!
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