LOS ANGELES _ Saturday night's game at Staples Center looked every bit like a game between two weary teams playing on the second night of a back-to-back, both missing starters.
It was ugly and the Los Angeles Lakers lost, 95-92, to the Portland Trail Blazers. Winning ugly against teams they are capable of beating hasn't come easy to the Lakers this season.
The Lakers pushed back Trail Blazers surges twice in the game's final six minutes, but Portland had one more than the Lakers did. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope missed three-point attempts with 12.7 seconds remaining in the game and 7.6 seconds left in the game. The former would have given the Lakers a lead and the latter would have tied the game.
Kyle Kuzma and Jordan Clarkson led the Lakers with 18 points each. Maurice Harkless led Portland with 22 points, 13 of them in the fourth quarter.
With the loss, the Lakers fell to 11-20 while the Trail Blazers improved to 17-16.
The Lakers had returned from a two-game trip visiting the Western Conference's top two teams. They'd just finished a four-game span that included two games against the Warriors, one against the Rockets and one against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Finding motivation and energy against those teams was easy.
History suggested they wouldn't be quite as energetic and focused against the Trail Blazers, a playoff team, but one that entered Saturday's game 16-16.
"It's a tough read because of a back-to-back," Lakers coach Luke Walton said before the game. "... I would hope that we don't relax."
The Lakers played without starting small forward Brandon Ingram, who suffered quadriceps injuries in each of the Lakers' last two games. They are still without center Brook Lopez, who is recovering from a sprained ankle he suffered on Dec. 18. Lopez will be out for at least two more weeks with the injury.
Both teams entered the game on the second night of a back-to-back and it showed early. Both teams struggled to score for a time, especially the Trail Blazers, who made only seven of 23 first-quarter shots. That was due in part to a Lakers defense led by Josh Hart, who started in Ingram's place.
Portland's shooting recovered in the second quarter and they cut he Lakers' seven-point first quarter lead to five by halftime with the help of 10 points by Shabazz Napier. Napier added nine in the third, including a three-pointer with 4.5 seconds left in the quarter to tie the game at 70.
The Trail Blazers ended the third quarter on an 8-0 run.
