Blazers Foul Out Versus Lakers 116-108; Trail 2-1

Damian Lillard had 34 points, Carmelo Anthony added 20, but Portland committed 25 fouls and allowed 43 foul shots to cancel out 17 Laker turnovers as the Portland Trail Blazers fell to the Los Angeles Lakers 116-108. Portland now trails in the best-of-seven series, two games to one.

Here are tonight’s takeaways:

• Fans Call Foul: Portland was whistled for 15 fouls in the first half, allowing for 31 foul shots. Wenyen Gabriel continued to struggle with fouls, picking up two fouls in two minutes. Jusuf Nurkic, Hassan Whiteside, and Anfernee Simons all had three fouls before halftime. While Los Angeles missed 15 free throws total, their advantage at the free throw line cancelled out 12 first half Laker turnovers.
• No Clean Glass: Los Angeles gained their advantage in the second half via rebounding. Overall, they outrebounded the Blazers 55-38. Much of this was due to the absence of Zach Collins and the foul trouble from all available Portland bigs, but it set the stage for the Lakers’ victory.
• Help Hard to Find: Blazers not named Anthony, Lillard, or CJ McCollum accounted for just 10-of-30 shooting. McCollum started hot, but ended up just 4-of-12 from three. Good help was hard to find constantly, where the Lakers’ bench outscored Portland’s, 24-8. By the end, the Blazers players were gassed, scoring just 22 points in the fourth quarter.

WHAT’S NEXT?

Game Four is Monday night.

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