LOS ANGELES _ When less than five minutes remained in the third quarter, the Portland Trail Blazers began to drown the Los Angeles Lakers in three-pointers.
Suddenly an eight point lead became a 21-point lead and the Lakers never recovered. The Trail Blazers beat the Lakers, 97-81, sweeping the season series between the two teams.
Damian Lillard scored 22 points, had seven rebounds and finished with five assists, while Portland forward Noah Vonleh scored eight and had a game-high 14 rebounds.
D'Angelo Russell led the Lakers with 22 points, one rebound and two assists. Lakers reserve point guard Tyler Ennis added 14 points, nine of them in the fourth quarter.
The Lakers were competitive early in the game, but both teams were shooting poorly. In the first quarter the Trail Blazers made 30.8 percent of their shots, while the Lakers made 31.8 percent. They both improved slightly in the second quarter, with the Lakers shooting 33.3 percent and the Trail Blazers shot 35 percent.
At halftime Portland led 40-32. Allen Crabbe came off the bench to score 10 points for the Trail Blazers, leading all scorers after two quarters.
Portland left its shooting woes behind after halftime. In the third quarter they made 60 percent of their shots, including six of eight three-point attempts. Four of those three-pointers came during a 16-3 run that buried the Lakers.
A Jordan Clarkson jumper cut the Trail Blazers' lead to eight. Moments later Crabbe answered with a three, then Lillard added a three, followed by another from Meyers Leonard and Lillard again. The Lakers shot better, but not by enough. They spent the rest of the game treading right near that line.
With the loss the Lakers fell to 21-52 while the Trail Blazers improved to 35-38.
