Blazers vs. Lakers Final Score: 106-94; Damian Lillard Powers Portland Past Los Angeles

Portland started off the game with a 9-2 run, punctuated by a Lillard three.  Wesley Johnson countered with five quick points for the Lakers, while the Blazers started turning the ball over again.  Portland ended up with five turnovers in the period.  Aldridge and Lillard both had six in the first, and the Blazers led by three after one.

The Lakers held tough with the Blazers as they always do, but a late run helped Portland sweep Los Angeles in the week.

Damian Lillard had 34 points and 7 assists, LaMarcus Aldridge had 15 points and 9 rebounds, and the Portland Trail Blazers used a strong fourth quarter to overcome the Los Angeles Lakers, 106-94, Sunday night at the Staples Center.

The teams traded the lead back and forth in the second quarter.  Lillard had seven in the period, as well as seven assists in the first half, including a pass to Steve Blake in the corner for a three to beat the buzzer before halftime.  Blake had six in the period, and Portland took a five point lead into the break.

The Blazers advanced their lead to as many as seven, but a quick 7-0 run by the Lakers erased the advantage.  The Lakers grabbed four offensive rebounds in the period, three of them when there were four or more Blazers in the paint.  Carlos Boozer continued to be a nuisance for the Blazers on both ends of the floor.  Aldridge had seven to lead Portland in the period, and the Blazers kept a slim three point lead after three.

The Blazers broke through in the fourth quarter, running out to a 14-0 run after Los Angeles tied the game.  Lillard scored seven straight points during the run, Matthews scored five, and Portland looked to have the game in hand.  The Lakers rallied back with back-to-back threes from Johnson and Wayne Ellington, cutting the lead to seven.  After free throws from both sides, Lillard drove straight down the lane and dunked on Jordan Hill and Ed Davis, drawing a foul in the process to seal the game.

Wesley Matthews had 16.  Nicolas Batum had 11 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists.  Meyers Leonard led the bench in scoring with 10.

BOX SCORE

Post-Game Reaction

The quickest @trailblazers have reached 30 wins in franchise history: 1977-78 30-5 1990-91 30-5 2014-15 30-8 #ripcity #PORvsLAL

— Rich Patterson (@richpatterson1) January 12, 2015

UPDATE: Damian Lillard finishes with 17 points in the fourth quarter tonight and has 232 fourth quarter points this season, most in the NBA.

— Trail Blazers PR (@TrailBlazersPR) January 12, 2015

The Trail Blazers are the first NBA team to reach 30 wins this season (30-8).

— Trail Blazers PR (@TrailBlazersPR) January 12, 2015

The Trail Blazers have won three straight road games against the Lakers for the first time since April 22, 1995-March 12, 1996.

— Trail Blazers PR (@TrailBlazersPR) January 12, 2015

Byron Scott on Damian Lillard: "Basketball wise I haven’t seen anything he can’t do."

— Bill Oram (@billoram) January 12, 2015

Byron: "I wouldn’t say we ran out of gas it was just too much Damian at the end."

— Bill Oram (@billoram) January 12, 2015

Aldridge had no problem stepping aside letting Lillard takeover in the 4th. "It was fun to watch. I wanted to get some popcorn." #Blazers

— Jabari Young (@JabariJYoung) January 12, 2015

When @Dame_Lillard had that monster and-1 dunk on Ed Davis/Jordan Hill in 4th, Hill asked official why he called the foul so late (cont) ...

— Joe Freeman (@BlazerFreeman) January 12, 2015

After Hill quizzed the official, @aldridge_12 turned to him and, "I said, 'He was mesmerized by the way (@Dame_Lillard) had dunked on you."

— Joe Freeman (@BlazerFreeman) January 12, 2015

. @Dame_Lillard on his fourth-quarter dunk: "It was a perfect amount of space." http://t.co/PEtkiVUcuG

— Casey Holdahl (@CHold) January 12, 2015

If there's a better inside-out combination in the NBA right now than @aldridge_12 & @Dame_Lillard I'd like to c it! #doesntexist

— Brian Wheeler (@blazerwheels) January 12, 2015

The homie d.lillard went off again...#tough !!

— John Wall (@JohnWall) January 12, 2015

Lillard on the 30-8 Blazers: "We play together. We get along. We are confident in ourselves."

— KEVIN DING (@KevinDing) January 12, 2015