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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- With their holiday already disrupted by
having to work, the Trail Blazers figured they'd spoil the Lakers'
Christmas Day, too.
Damon Stoudamire scored eight of his 27 points in the final 3:40
as Portland hung on to beat Los Angeles 109-104 Monday and snap the
Lakers' five-game winning streak.
|  | | Portland's Scottie Pippen, right, tries to strip the ball from Isaiah Rider during Monday's game. |
"It's a big win for us," Stoudamire said. "You come in here
and play a team that had been playing well and beat them on their
home floor, it's big."
Nearly seven months after Portland's stunning collapse in Game 7
of the Western Conference finals on the same court, it was the
Lakers who faltered down the stretch.
"If we do everything right, we're very capable of beating this
team," said Shaquille O'Neal, who had 32 points and 15 rebounds.
But nothing went right for the Lakers in the final three
minutes.
O'Neal missed four consecutive free throws with the Lakers
trailing by six. Technical fouls against Ron Harper and Lakers
assistant Tex Winter, and an offensive foul called on Kobe Bryant
in that span had coach Phil Jackson choosing his words carefully.
"I had to collect myself because of what I might say about the
refereeing," Jackson said. "It really ruined a very nice game
that was being played. As a consequence, the game turned into a
mired, ugly, clock-stopping, free-throw shooting effort."
And O'Neal didn't come through at the line.
"... Obviously, that's going to happen at times, but we want
him to claim at least one of those two foul shots down the
stretch," Jackson said. "He shot free throws very well in the
first half. That's the focus he's got to keep for the second
half."
With the Lakers trailing 107-104, Bryant was called for his
sixth foul, negating his basket with 7.4 seconds left. Stoudamire
made both free throws and Robert Horry missed the Lakers' final
shot to end the game.
"I thought it was a three-point play when I heard the
whistle," said Bryant, who quickly realized he was wrong when he
saw the Blazers jumping up and down in celebration.
"It was a horrible call, a ridiculous call. I don't think he
was in the right place to make the appropriate call. We're just
upset right now because we feel we should have won the ballgame,"
Bryant said.
With the game tied at 97, Portland scored six straight points as
O'Neal missed four consecutive foul shots. Two of Stoudamire's four
points came on free throws after the technicals on Harper and
Winter.
Harper didn't want to talk afterward, bidding everyone a "Merry
Christmas" before heading out with a sack full of gifts.
"It was pretty critical," Scottie Pippen said of the call on
Harper. "It was a very close game, so any extra points here or
there could really cost you. It was very big in this game because
there weren't a lot of points being scored."
Winter's technical resulted from him leaving the bench to tell
referee Rodney Mott to look in the rule book, according to Jackson.
Jackson contended that Harper committed a violation because he
lifted his arm up after being hit by Portland's Steve Smith. A
technical would have been correct only if Harper hit Smith with his
elbow, Jackson said.
"It made a two-point game a four-point game, which really
changed the balance of the ballgame," he said.
Bryant added 29 points and Rick Fox had 22 for the Lakers.
Rasheed Wallace led Portland with 33 points and 13 rebounds.
The fourth quarter was a much different outcome than the last
time the Blazers played the Lakers at Staples Center.
In June, the Lakers overcame a 13-point deficit when Portland
missed 13 consecutive shots in Game 7 and knocked the Trail Blazers
out of the playoffs. Los Angeles went on to win the NBA title.
"Forget June," Stoudamire said. "They won it and they're the
champions. That's always going to be over our heads. We needed this
win because we just needed this win."
With 1:49 remaining, Bryant hit a basket, but Arvydas Sabonis
answered to keep Portland ahead 105-99. After Bryant was tripped on
a foul by Stoudamire, he made one of two free throws. O'Neal
swooped in and scored off Bryant's second miss to put the Lakers
within three with 47 seconds left.
But Bryant fouled Stoudamire, who hit four of six free throws in
the final 44 seconds to put the game away.
"We didn't want our day to be totally spoiled by being here and
losing," Pippen said. "Our team played spectacular and it's a
wonderful Christmas gift."
The Blazers scored the first seven points of the third quarter,
punctuated by a dunk by Pippen for their first lead of the game,
62-61.
The Lakers' shooting cooled off, but other than a tie, the
Blazers couldn't get over the hump and trailed 81-80 going into the
final 12 minutes.
The Lakers shot 53 percent in the first half, but only had a
six-point lead at the break to show for it.
Game
notes
Pippen became the 59th player in NBA history to reach
17,000 career points. He scored 12 points, giving him 17,007 in
14-plus seasons. ... Wallace earned his 16th technical foul of the
season in the third quarter. ... Playing its first Christmas game
since 1985, Portland improved to 12-1 on the holiday -- including 11
straight Christmas wins -- according to the Elias Sports Bureau. ...
The Lakers are 10-6 on the holiday. ... Portland leads the season
series 2-1 after the teams split two games in Portland. They won't
meet again until April. ... Unopened gifts decorated the lockers of
several Lakers. O'Neal wrapped a present for Robert Horry in the
bright yellow wrapping used by the trainers. Bryant showed off a
silver-and-diamond watch from his fiance that he said she helped
design. He gave her a black Pomeranian dog named Gucci.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Portland Clubhouse
LA Lakers Clubhouse
Rose, Pacers survive McGrady's career-high 43
RECAPS
Indiana 103
Orlando 93
Portland 109
LA Lakers 104
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Kobe Bryant gets the steal and goes behind the back for two points.
avi: 559 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
 The Lakers' Kobe Bryant comments on his controversial offensive foul.
wav: 93 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
FROM
ATHLETESDIRECT
Kobe Bryant Official Site
Rick Fox Official Site
Mark Madsen Official Site
Mike Dunleavy Official Site
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