Lakers - Trail Blazers rivalry
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The Lakers-Trail Blazers rivalry is a National Basketball Association (NBA) rivalry between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Portland Trail Blazers. The rivalry started in the late 1970s and peaked in the 1990s. The teams have met in the playoffs 11 times, with the Lakers winning nine of these series and the Blazers winning only two playoff series.
1970s and 1980s[edit]
Background[edit]
The Portland Trail Blazers were incepted into the league in the in 1970-71 NBA Season as an expansion team, and were placed in the Pacific Division for the Western Conference alongside with the Los Angeles Lakers. The Blazers ended their inaugaral season with a 29-53 record [1], whilst the Lakers made the Western Conference Finals led by Wilt Chamberlain. The Blazers, at the time led by Geoff Petrie and Sidney Wicks, failed to make the playoffs in their first six seasons. Meanwhile, the Lakers made the finals twice, winning once in 1972 and running-up in 1973. The Blazers acquired Bill Walton in the 1974 NBA Draft and Maurice Lucas in the ABA Dispersal Draft. Meanwhile, the Lakers traded Elmore Smith, Brian Winters, Dave Meyers and Junior Bridgeman for three-time MVP Kareem Abdul-Jabbar from the Milwaukee Bucks in the 1975 offseason.[2]
1977 Western Conference Finals[edit]
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The Lakers and Trail Blazers first faced in the playoffs in the 1977 Western Conference Finals, where the Blazers swept the favored Lakers 4-0. [3] The Lakers were led by Abdul-Jabbar, who had just won his fourth MVP, [4] finished at the top of the Western Conference with a 53-29 record. Meanwhile, the Blazers finished with a 49-33 record, led by Bill Walton, who led the league in blocks per game and rebounds per game.[5] The series was touted to be a battle of the two former UCLA big men, with the two future hall-of-famers Abdul-Jabbar and a finally healthy Walton going head to head. Despite the series loss, Abdul-Jabbar outscored Walton 30.9 to 19.2 points per game. [6]
The Blazers won Game 1 one the road 121-109, with four of their five starters scoring at least 20 points. [7] The Blazers took a 2-0 series lead heading back home, winning 99-97 despite 40 points from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The Lakers had a chance to tie, but Abdul-Jabbar missed the game-tying shot with five seconds to go. [8] The Blazers won Game 3 102-97, led by 22 points from both Bill Walton and Maurice Lucas. Walton scored his last 14 points in the in the last 5:18 minutes as the Blazers overcame a fourth quarter deficit to win, including a dunk over Abdul-Jabbar. [8] The Blazers would complete the upset sweep over the Lakers in Game 4 where they won 105-101, led by Maurice Lucas' 26 points. [9]
The Blazers would eventually win the NBA Finals, defeating the Philadelphia 76ers 4-2.
1980s[edit]
The 1980s marked an era of dominance from the Lakers over the Blazers, winning all three of the playoff series between the two sides. Their first meeting was in 1983, where the Showtime Lakers, led by Magic Johnson, Abdul-Jabbar, their number one draft pick from the previous year James Worthy, and new head coach Pat Riley, defeated the Blazers 4-1 in the Western Conference semi-finals.
In 1985, the Lakers would once again defeat the Blazers 4-1 in the conference semi-finals. The Lakers would go on to win 4-2 in the finals against the Boston Celtics.
The final playoff series between the two teams in the 1980s occurred during the first round of the 1989 Playoffs, where the Lakers swept the Blazers 3-0.
1990s[edit]
Early 90s[edit]
1991 Western Conference Finals[edit]
The Lakers defeated the Blazers in the 1991 Western Conference Finals 4-2.
The 1990 offseason saw Pat Riley, the five-time championship coach of the showtime Lakers, step down as head coach, and was replaced by Mike Dunleavy Sr. The Dunleavy coached Lakers would finish third in the Western Conference with a 58-24 record. Meanwhile, Portland finished top of the Western Conference with a 63-19 record, led by their new core of All-Star guards Clyde Drexler and Terry Porter.
The Lakers won Game 1 on the road 111-106 behind 28 points from James Worthy.
In Game 2, Portland evened the series 1-1 behind 26 points from Terry Porter on 12 of 15 shooting from the field, including a 20 foot jumpshot in the last two minutes to seal the game, as well as 21 points and 10 rebounds from Clyde Drexler. [10]
The Lakers won Game 3 106-92 behind a 25 point performance from James Worthy. [11] The Lakers took out a commanding 3-1 lead, blowing Portland in Game 4 116-95, with Magic Johnson leading with a near triple double of 22 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists.[12]
The Lakers clinched a spot in the Finals in Game 6, winning 91-90, as Lakers managed to hold on to the lead despite the Blazers rallying from 15 points behind. [13] Portland missed two opportunities to take the lead late in the game, with Cliff Robinson dropping a pass out of bounds on a fast break with less than a minute left at 88-89, and Terry Porter missing a jumpshot for the lead at 90-91.[13]
The Lakers would go on to lose to the Chicago Bulls 4-1 in the NBA Finals.
1992 Western Conference First Round[edit]
The Trail Blazers defeated the Lakers in the first round of the 1992 playoffs 3-1 en route to the NBA Finals.
Late 90s[edit]
1998 Western Conference First Round[edit]
2000s[edit]
Early 2000s[edit]
2000 Western Conference Finals[edit]
The Blazers and Lakers faced in the Western Conference Finals most recently in 2000, where the Lakers defeated the Blazers 4-3.
Prior to the 1999-2000 NBA Season, the Lakers replaced Kurt Rambis with Phil Jackson, who had won 6 championships with the Chicago Bulls, to team up with young All-Star Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant. The Lakers finished at the top of the Western Conference with a 67-15 record, with O'Neal winning the league MVP. Meanwhile, the Trail Blazers finished 3rd in the West with a 59-23 record, led by Rasheed Wallace and Jackson's former Chicago All-Star Scottie Pippen.
The Blazers evened up the series 3-3 with a 103-93 victory in Game 6 behind 26 points from Steve Smith and 20 points in 19 minutes off the bench from Bonzi Wells. [14] The Game 6 defeat meant that the Lakers were on the verge of being only the 7th team to blow a 3-1 series lead. [15]
In Game 7, the Lakers came back from a 16 point deficit to win 89-84 at the Staples Center. Portland led 73-58 going into the fourth quarter, but were outscored 13-31 by the Lakers. The Lakers' comeback was capped off by an alley-oop from Kobe Bryant to Shaquille O'Neal.[15] The Lakers would go on to defeat the Indiana Pacers 4-2 in the 2000 NBA Finals.
2001 Western Conference First Round[edit]
2002 Western Conference First Round[edit]
2010 - Present[edit]
The two teams have not met in the playoffs since 2002.
The Blazers currently have a 15 game win streak over the Lakers, dating back to April 2014, their third longest win streak over another franchise. [16]
Both teams have had success in with their young cores in the NBA Summer League, where the two teams faced in the finals in both 2017 and 2018.[17]
References[edit]
- ↑ "1970-71 Portland Trail Blazers Roster and Stats | Basketball-Reference.com". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2018-10-09.
- ↑ Cady, Steve. "Abdul‐Jabbar Traded by Bucks for Four Lakers". Retrieved 2018-10-17.
- ↑ "1977 NBA Western Conference Finals - Portland Trail Blazers vs. Los Angeles Lakers | Basketball-Reference.com". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2018-09-11.
- ↑ "NBA MVP Award Winners | NBA.com". NBA.com. Retrieved 2018-10-16.
- ↑ "1976-77 NBA Leaders | Basketball-Reference.com". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2018-10-16.
- ↑ "Dunk History: A healthy Bill Walton meets Kareem Abdul-Jabbar at the summit". Retrieved 2018-10-16.
- ↑ "Portland Trail Blazers at Los Angeles Lakers Box Score, May 6, 1977 | Basketball-Reference.com". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2018-10-16.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 "L.A. COULDN'T MOVE THE MOUNTAIN". Vault. Retrieved 2018-10-16.
- ↑ "1977: Lakers vs. Trail Blazers". Los Angeles Lakers. Retrieved 2018-10-16.
- ↑ AP. "BASKETBALL; Trail Blazers Get Even With Lakers". Retrieved 2018-09-11.
- ↑ "Portland Trail Blazers at Los Angeles Lakers Box Score, May 24, 1991 | Basketball-Reference.com". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2018-10-17.
- ↑ Araton, Harvey. "BASKETBALL; Lakers On the Freeway To Finals". Retrieved 2018-10-17.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 HEISLER, MARK (1991-05-31). "Lakers Survive Final Threat : Western Conference: Porter misses, Johnson passes and Los Angeles wins right to play Bulls, 91-90". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2018-10-16.
- ↑ Spousta, Tom. "PRO BASKETBALL; Blazers' Play Forces The Lakers To Game 7". Retrieved 2018-10-17.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Staff, NBA.com. "Top Moments: Famous alley-oop from Kobe to Shaq caps Lakers' comeback | NBA.com". NBA.com. Retrieved 2018-09-11.
- ↑ "Where does the Trail Blazers' win streak over the Lakers -- 15 straight -- rank?". OregonLive.com. Retrieved 2018-09-11.
- ↑ "Summer league title game stars to watch when the real season tips". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2018-09-11.
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