Thorny Night for Lakers

PORTLAND, Ore. â€”  They had checked out of the hotel. The luggage was on the bus. The bus was going to the airport. The charter flight was going to Los Angeles.

And then the Portland Trail Blazers ruined the itinerary, which was only appropriate. They ruined everything else Wednesday night for the Lakers, who had envisioned a series sweep and three days to prepare for the Utah Jazz but instead got a 98-90 loss before 21,538 at the Rose Garden and a Game 4 here Friday.

The Lakers hadn’t so much assumed the Trail Blazers unable to make it 2-1 as they had a plan in place, just in case they could make a quick getaway, from the city and the best-of-five series. But back to the hotel they went instead, to the rooms that had been held.

The best the Lakers could do was make it interesting for everyone, and scary for the hosts. A 31-point lead with 8:01 left in the third was cut to 94-88 with 34.2 remaining in the fourth, but no closer, even with Kobe Bryant emerging from the shadows to score 22 points and Shaquille O’Neal getting 29 points and 12 rebounds.

It was a six-point game as late as 96-90 with 21 seconds to play. But, with so much energy having been expended just to get within striking range, that proved to be insurmountable, a defeat capped when Kenny Anderson made two free throws with 16 seconds remaining, the last of his game-high 30 points that also marked his playoff career high.

“We were laid back and we paid a price tonight,� Laker Byron Scott said. “We realize when you’re up, 2-0, you can’t be soft.�

Not to mention thinking a series is over.

“Definitely not,� said Nick Van Exel, quickly disputing that notion. “We came in with the same mind-set as the first two games.

“We just didn’t match their intensity, we didn’t match their aggressiveness in the first half. And we pretty much paid for it.�

In the form of a larger hotel bill, for one thing. It came out of nowhere too, with no indication the Lakers were about to get trouble. These were the same Trail Blazers, after all, who had scored 77 and 93 points the previous two games, the same Trail Blazers who acknowledged after Sunday’s loss at the Forum that they were “splintered� and “flat-line.�

Actually, there was one warning from afar, from across the country the night before. The Miami Heat went from a 2-0 series lead, dominating wins at that, to a loss at Orlando.

“I think Miami [Tuesday] night should have offered us as much motivation as it gets,� Laker Coach Del Harris said. “Miami had already kicked butt by 30 points twice in a row, and they get a 20-point lead, and then they lose.

“So you can’t take anything for granted.�

At least the Heat got the chance to collapse. The Lakers trailed by 18 points with 3:44 remaining in the first quarter. Ellen didn’t come out as boldly Wednesday night as the Trail Blazers.

Looking for any spark, not counting the spontaneous combustion that was going on in front of him, Harris gave Bryant his first meaningful minutes of the series, the first time they didn’t come in a mop-up role. Then again, they did for a while.

Bryant, after going in for the final 46 seconds in Game 1 and then getting five fourth-quarter minutes in the Game 2 rout, on Wednesday entered with 2:27 showing in the first quarter. It was ahead of Scott, a noteworthy development if it carries over to Friday, but it was also a 16-point game at the time.

The Lakers were unable to slow this team that had jerked to a sudden acceleration, let alone stop it. Portland’s lead reached 26 in the second quarter and, showing no sign of easing up, turned that into 31, 69-38, with 8:01 remaining in the third quarter.

It was 26 heading into the fourth, so the Lakers, apparently sensing a big rally, put O’Neal back in. Along with Elden Campbell, Robert Horry, Jerome Kersey, Scott and Bryant.

Before they could do any damage, like to themselves, that six-man lineup was quickly detected by fans and the officials. Campbell came out, the way he was supposed to in the first place, the Lakers were assessed a technical, and Harris could only shake his head and let a smile dribble out, as if to wonder if things could have gone any worse.

He didn’t really need to ask, did he?