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Wednesday, Dec. 13 10:30pm ET
Blazers even season series with Lakers

RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME FLOW

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- Damon Stoudamire finally proved he can hang with Kobe Bryant, giving the Portland Trail Blazers a sorely needed confidence boost against their nemesis, the Los Angeles Lakers.

Rasheed Wallace
Rasheed Wallace had team highs of 25 points and 13 rebounds for the Blazers.

Stoudamire scored all 21 of his points in the second half, and Rasheed Wallace had 25 points and 13 rebounds as the Blazers defeated Los Angeles 96-86 Wednesday night.

The teams hadn't met since their much-hyped season opener on Oct. 31, which the Lakers won 96-86. That was billed as a rematch of Game 7 of the Western Conference finals last season, when the Lakers came back from a 15-point fourth-quarter deficit to win and go on to be NBA champions.

"Once I got my first bucket, things started rolling from there," said Stoudamire, who had 11 points in the third and 10 in the fourth. "We haven't been playing well against the elite teams in our conference. ... This was something we could build on."

Bryant scored 35 points, but 12 came after Portland took control with a 9-0 run in the fourth quarter. Bryant made 13 of 25 shots, bouncing back from a three-game stretch in which he averaged only 23.3 points and shot 35 percent.

Shaquille O'Neal had just 19 points on 7-of-21 shooting to go with 13 rebounds.

While Portland (16-8) pulled into a second-place tie with Sacramento in the Pacific Division, a half-game behind Phoenix, the Lakers (15-9) lost their second straight and fourth in five games.

"We've got to do some soul-searching," O'Neal said. "We had a couple of chances to get control, but we kind of beat ourselves. They didn't beat us; they can't beat us."

The game was ugly, with both teams going long stretches without a basket. Portland shot 39 percent, while the Lakers shot 41 percent.

Stoudamire, at 5-foot-10 the shortest player in Blazers history, always has had trouble handling the 6-7 Bryant. Stoudamire went 0-for-3 from the field in the first half with four turnovers, and his low point came late in the second quarter when Bryant stripped the ball from him, drove for a layup and got fouled by Stoudamire.

Stoudamire missed his first shot of the third quarter, a long jumper, but then sneaked through for a layup and three-point play, beginning a stretch of eight field goals in 13 attempts.

"Damon got aggressive, and did what we needed him to do," said Scottie Pippen, who had 18 points. "We want that kind of play out of him."

Stoudamire's 3-pointer put the Blazers ahead 78-69 with just under five minutes left. He hit another 3 to make it 83-73 with 2:42 to go, and Wallace knocked down a 3 to put the game away at 86-75 with 2:04 left.

"People are going to be concerned, and the fans are concerned," Bryant said of the Lakers' struggles. "But we have got to just focus on improving."

The Blazers built an early 10-point lead when the Lakers missed 13 of their first 16 shots, including two brutal-looking airball 3s by Rick Fox and Robert Horry.

Portland went ahead 30-18 when Wells hit a layup in the open court and got fouled. The play was set up when Bryant ignored a pick-and-roll set by O'Neal and drove the lane, getting blocked by Dale Davis.

O'Neal missed 13 of his first 17 shots, and struggled to find room against Arvydas Sabonis, Davis and even Shawn Kemp.

"We kept trying to find a way to get to Shaq, but we didn't get the ball in the right position in the fourth," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said.

The Blazers shot just 26 percent in the second quarter, but stayed in it with timely rebounding.

Kemp, a serious liability on offense, made up for it by getting three offensive rebounds in the period. On one possession, he tracked down a ball and fed Wallace coming down the lane for a soaring one-handed slam, the most entertaining play of the night.

The Lakers surged back, however, with Bryant scoring the first nine points during an 11-0 run. Kemp hit a 21-foot jumper to tie it 44 at halftime.

Game notes
The Lakers led for a total of just 3:24. ... Sabonis, who missed the opener with a sprained left knee, had only four points but eight rebounds in 21 minutes. ... Bryant started the game wearing a jersey that was missing the "a" in his name, but he changed during the first timeout. ... Both teams had been 4-2 on the second night of back-to-back games.
ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard

LA Lakers Clubhouse

Portland Clubhouse


Aldridge: Sliding, in Blaze of Glory


RECAPS
Chicago 104
Boston 86

Indiana 97
Dallas 92

Philadelphia 102
Washington 82

Charlotte 101
Sacramento 90

Detroit 92
Atlanta 69

Phoenix 103
San Antonio 93

Milwaukee 111
Utah 102

Seattle 94
Vancouver 93

Miami 94
LA Clippers 88

Portland 96
LA Lakers 86

FROM
ATHLETESDIRECT

Kobe Bryant Official Site

Rick Fox Official Site

Mark Madsen Official Site

Mike Dunleavy Official Site


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