Kobe Bryant Torches Blazers in Portland for 47 Points! Lakers Playoffs Hopes Still Alive!

The Los Angeles Lakers were dangerously close to losing every back-to-back series they played this season with an awful effort defensively in the 1st Half of a road game in Portland. The Blazers would have loved to be a thorn in the Lakers chances of making the playoffs, but The Rose Garden, instead, was transformed into a bed of roses! Kobe Bryant set a record for points scored by an opponent! Is there anything our old guy can’t do? He dueled with The Blazers rookie PG Damian Lillard to 17 points after the 1st Quarter! But the rookie faltered in the 2nd Half, as The Lakers took command – very – late for a #mustwin victory!

Final Score: Lakers 113, Blazers 106 (Recap).

Steve Blake came up with some key rebounds , critical rebounds – late. Pau Gasol was a great contributor for the 3rd game in a row. Dwight Howard was a huge presence, even making his free throws when they were needed. But, Kobe Bryant played the entire 48 minutes and had a monster game! It appeared that he sensed a need to be Kobe The Scorer early in the contest, as Portland was red hot behind the 3-point arc! They blitzed The Lakers to a 38-31 lead, which The Lakers were able to recover in the first 90 seconds of the 2nd Quarter! Game on!

It really shouldn’t have been so close with Wesley Mathews and Nicolas Batum unavailable – LaMarcus Aldridge wasn’t supposed to play, either – but he logged a lot of minutes, although he didn’t play with the dominance he usually has in the paint. But Damian Lillard & Company played “bombs away” early, and the attack cooled off – Portland limited to 37 points in the 2nd Half after totaling 69 in the 1st Half! It was an exciting basketball game: The NBA is FAN-tastic! But thankfully The Lakers felt the urgency of a season running out of opportunities to falter & play another day: They need wins, desperately.

The Lakers will need wins over The Golden State Warriors, The San Antonio Spurs and The Houston Rockets the rest of the way, or Kobe Bryant’s guarantee may be found lacking in substance: But if you took anything away from what Kobe Bryant has done these last 2 games, remember he out-dueled Eric “Flash” Gordon for a loose ball and completed a highly-contested layup in the last game! And to then follow that up with a rookie you might as well call The Energizer Bunny, Kobe Bryant got the best of Damian Lillard on his home court! But The Lakers couldn’t win and they wouldn’t have won unless they had a total team effort! Dwight Howard & Pau Gasol were too tough for the shorthanded Blazers, who seemed to tire and commit turnovers late – even missing uncontested layups! Unlike Steve Blake’s layup that was goaltended when he unexpectedly turned with a burst of speed to the hoop.

Lakers win! Lakers win!

And now for a new AllSportsNet show: Kevin Frazier hosts “Connected With…” – starting now! And, fittingly, although pre-recorded, with tonight’s star performer: Kobe Bryant! #enjoy