Blazers going 'back to drawing board'
Associated Press
PORTLAND, Ore. -- The Portland Trail Blazers had Kobe Bryant
figured out, right up until the final few seconds.
|  | | Shaquille O'Neal scored 18 of his team-high 26 points in the second half. |
Using bigger players to overwhelm the Los Angeles Lakers guard,
the Blazers held him to just seven second-half points. But it was
Bryant's two crucial defensive plays in the final seconds that allowed the Lakers to slip away with a 93-91 victory Friday night and a 2-1 series lead.
"I had to take a chance. We've played all season long for
this," said Bryant, who was in foul trouble most of the second
half. "I'm not going to let a guy get a clear look just because I
have five fouls."
Bryant blocked a driving shot attempt by Blazers center Arvydas
Sabonis just before the horn to preserve the win.
On the final sequence, Damon Stoudamire fed the ball to Sabonis
on the perimeter, and the 7-foot-3 Lithuanian faked a jumper, then
drove toward the basket. The Lakers' Ron Harper went to Sabonis' left, leaving Bryant open to time his jump perfectly and knock Sabonis' shot away.
Sabonis wailed and flailed his arms, and the sellout Rose Garden
crowd booed the lack of a foul call, but replays showed Bryant had
all ball. As time ran out, Bryant flung the ball downcourt, his
tongue wagging.
After the game, the Blazers quieted down, admitting Sabonis should have taken the jumper.
"In these kind of games, you really can't leave the game up to
the refs," Stoudamire said.
Just like that, the Blazers threw away the homecourt advantage
they wrested away from the Lakers with Monday's 106-77 rout in Los
Angeles.
"I feel we gave the game away," Portland's Brian Grant said.
"We had every opportunity to win this game, but we just blew it.
Back to the drawing board."
Bryant, lit up most of the night by Scottie Pippen and even the
little-used Stacey Augmon, also had a key steal before the Blazers'
last possession.
Bryant, who averaged 22.5 points during the regular season, had
just 25 total in the first two games against Portland. In Game 2,
the Blazers sent Steve Smith and Bonzi Wells at him, and Bryant
couldn't stop them.
While Bryant started fast Friday night with 14 of his 25 points
in the first quarter, he was a liability on defense most of the
night. Augmon, who had scored just one point in six playoff games
this season, outmuscled Bryant for eight points in the second
quarter alone, hitting four of six shots.
"I feel like we did a good job of really passing the ball
inside, getting penetration from the post," Pippen said. "We were
getting very easy shots from the post. I mean, we only lost the
game by two points, so I don't feel like we really settled for the
jump shot."
Having to guard Scottie Pippen this time proved more difficult
for Bryant than defending Stoudamire. Bryant had held Stoudamire
scoreless in Game 2, and although Pippen scored just 12 points, he
backed down Bryant twice in the final 2&189; minutes and scored easily
on hooks.
The last shot tied it at 91 with 1:15 to go, but the Blazers
failed to score the rest of the way.
"Ultimately, it came down to turnovers," Portland coach Mike
Dunleavy said. "We had 15, and it turned into 25 points. That was
the biggest difference in the game."
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