Trail Blazers hand Lakers sixth-straight loss

Basketball Betting Lines

02/22/2007 - Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jarrett Jack matched a career-high with 30 points and dished out seven assists as Portland downed Los Angeles, 112-108, at the Staples Center.

Zach Randolph added 22 points and nine rebounds for the Trail Blazers, who won their second straight game since the All-Star break. Rookie LaMarcus Aldridge chipped in with 18 points off the bench, while fellow rookie Brandon Roy finished with 16 points and seven helpers.

"It's always tough to win in Los Angeles but tonight we played together," said Jack. "Everyone contributed and we came away with the win."

All-Star MVP Kobe Bryant had 25 points, eight rebounds and six assists but shot just 8-of-22 from the floor for the reeling Lakers, who dropped their sixth straight contest. Lakers coach Phil Jackson suffered six straight losses for the first time in his 16 seasons as an NBA mentor.

"Tonight was disappointing," said Jackson. "We didn't give ourselves a chance to win. When you let them shoot that well, you know the defensive effort is not there."

Maurice Evans tallied 23 points, while Smush Parker had 18 points and eight assists for Los Angeles.

The Lakers held a precarious two-point lead entering the final frame but Portland took control of the contest with a 16-2 run midway through the frame.

Roy started things by draining a jumper and then finished the flurry with another jumper from the left baseline to make it a 100-89 game with 4:41 left.

Lamar Odom finally stopped the bleeding with a bucket 18 seconds later. Bryant then stuck a jumper and deposited a three-point play over the next 1 1/2 minutes to put the Lakers right back in it, 100-96.

But, the Blazers responded at the charity stripe. Jack and Randolph both hit a pair of free throws to make it a 104-96 game with just 1:57 remaining.

Los Angeles never recovered from there.

The Lakers raced out to a 30-25 advantage after the opening 12 minutes and continued to lead 54-52 at intermission.

The Game remained tight through the third quarter with Los Angeles holding an 80-78 edge.

Game Notes

The Blazers are 2-0 since the All-Star break. Last season the team was just 3-27 after the break...The Lakers are now 19-9 as the home team this season and are scheduled to host Paul Pierce and the Boston Celtics on Friday in the finale of a four-game homestand...The Trail Blazers are 11-18 on the road this season. They return home to host the Seattle SuperSonics on Monday at the Rose Garden.

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Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

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