Lakers Lose 2 Straight Games

Lakers Lost 2 Straight Games Against Blazers

33 points and 14 rebounds from Dwight Howard were still insufficient for the Los Angeles Lakers in a 116-106 loss to the inspired and active Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night.

Nicolas Batum had 26 points and the Blazers led by as many as 19 in handing the Lakers their second straight loss to open the season. Damian Lillard, the sixth overall pick in the June draft, had 22 points and 11 assists in his NBA debut for Portland.

The Lakers' difficulties were mixed by the loss of guard Steve Nash to a bruised left leg late in the first half.

Nash, who joined by the Lakers this summer, collided with Lillard and shambled to the locker room. Although the team initially reported he was fine, Nash struggled when he returned for the second half and left the game for good a short time later.

Kobe Bryant had 30 points for the Lakers.

The loss, as well as the injury to Nash, came a day after Los Angeles dropped its season opener at home 99-91 to the Dallas Mavericks, spoiling the Lakers debuts of both Howard and Nash. Howard had 19 points and 10 rebounds in his first game in gold.

It was clear for the second night in a row that the Lakers were still getting used to each other. The starters rarely played together during an 0-8 preseason.

The Blazers, who finished 28-38 last season and out of the playoffs, opened their season with eight newcomers on the roster after an offseason rebuilding effort around All-Star Lamarcus Aldridge, Wesley Matthews and Batum.

Posted by Andre Monohan on Friday November 02 2012, 3:32 AM EDT. Ref: Yahoo. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0