Round 1 Game 4
Game 4 The Lakers coming breathing a
little easier after getting the lead in the
best of 7 vs the Portland Trailblazers. The
Blazers sense urgency is code red which
could loom the danger for the Lakers.
Dame Lillard averaging 30+ in the series
averaging 6 3 Pointer made per game as
well.
The Lakers seem to have figured out to
not rely on the outside shot and just play
to the flow of the game. With a 2-1 series
lead the Lakers have still have done
nothing and they know this so tonight’s
game is huge for both sides as it should
be it’s the playoffs.
The start of the game the Lakers jumped
to a fast start with 15-0 run and holding
the Blazers scoreless until the 7 minute
mark of the quarter. The Lakers kept piling
on the lead forcing the Blazers to call a
timeout going up 27-10. Anthony Davis
already with 10 points and Lebron adding
6 points of his own to ignite the lopsided
run.
The quarter would end with the Lakers
leading 43-25 led by 16 points by AD and
he also added 2 blocks on defensive end.
KCP also chipped in 10 points going 2 for
2 from beyond the arc.
The 2nd quarter the Lakers would keep
their foot on the gas and increase the lead
to 62-40 midway through period. Lebron
would put on a show dropping 16 points to
increase his total to 22 points overall. The
bench added 19 points for the half to help
give the Lakers a comfortable 80-51 lead
heading into the half. The Lakers held
Dame Lillard to only 9 points for the half
which was his lowest output in the series
for a half.
The nightmare continued for The Blazers
going into the 3rd quarter the Lakers
jumped out to a 11-2 run to start the half
forcing yer another Blazers timeout after
Lebron pulled up from just outside the
logo draining 3 pointer.
The confidence of the Lakers was
contagious throughout the whole team
playing stellar on both end of the court.
The Lakers went up as by 38 points at 1
point of the period. AD would be ruled out
with Back spasms would finish his night
with 18 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and
2 blocks.
The Blazers would lose Dame Lillard to a
knee issue he would finish with 11 points
on 3-9 shooting with only 1 3 pointer
made. The score to end the 3rd would be
Lakers up 112-87.
The final quarter both teams would empty
their benches. The Lakers bench would
thrive keep the big lead intact with some
big dunks from Dwight Howard also sharp
shooting from Dion Waiters and Kyle
Kuzma.
Both teams pretty much coasted through
most of the quarter with outcome already
decided. The final score would be
135-115. Lebron would finish with 30
points and 10 assists on 10 of 12 shooting
going 4 of 5 from the 3 point line another
big performance to give the Lakers 3-1
series lead heading into Wednesday’s
night game 5 where the Lakers can close
their 1st playoffs series since 2012.
My 2 Cents
There isn’t much to say the Lakers have
been superb through the last 3 games
and the Defense which was in question
during the seeding games has been the
key to the Lakers wins in the series.
The top defense in the playoffs to be
exact. The Lakers had 9 blocks in Game 3
which played a big role in fast break
points which seemed to be every other
play in this game.
The bench was huge tonight led by Kyle
Kuzma who had 18 points. The bench
dropped 53 points with 34 of those points
coming in the 2nd half. The all out effort
from the bench was another key to the
blowout victory. This group has been very
confident the last 3 games and playing
their roles accordingly.
Lebron and AD took it upon themselves in
the 1st half to dominate the Blazers who
threw everything at the dynamic duo and
still couldn’t hold these 2 superstars.
AD dominated the 1st quarter while
Lebron took over in the 2nd quarter the
rest of the team fed off their aggressive
play and made sure the game would never
be close. That right there is what
championship teams thrive off of.
This was a great performance the two
leaders combined for 40 of the Lakers 80
points in the 1st half with resounding lead
over a team that many though would push
them to the limits but that hasn’t been the
case.
I said on my show and prior articles that
the Lakers have been motivated after
dropping the opening game and their
sense urgency is rising each game.
This team isn’t ready to be crowned but
they are building something special here.
The mentality is ring or bust and you can
see that in their improved gameplay.
The Lakers can breath easy tonight but
we all know this series isn’t done yet and
that sense of urgency will need to be
raised another notch to win and advance.
Written By:Pop Dibiase
