Coming off an NBA Finals victory over the Orlando Magic, the Los Angeles Lakers looked to defend their title with most of its championship core returning for the 2009-10 season. On Feb. 6, 2010, the Lakers faced a challenging task with a road matchup against the Portland Trail Blazers, who had playoff aspirations of their own.
After a back-and-forth affair, Los Angeles found themselves trailing by three points after one quarter. But they would bounce back with a strong offensive showing in the second quarter and entered halftime with a six-point lead.
The third quarter was much of the same for the Lakers, who outscored the Trail Blazers and increase their lead to nine.
With the game in hand, Los Angeles would tack on another eight-point advantage in the final 12 minutes of play to win by a final score of 99-82. For the Lakers, the victory marked the first of four consecutive.
Lamar Odom set the tone offensively, recording a double-double behind 10 points and a career-high 22 rebounds in roughly 37 minutes of action. He additionally dished out six assists and tallied a block and steal on the defensive end.
Metta World Peace scored a game-high 21 points and added four assists, three rebounds and one steal over 38 minutes on the floor. Shannon Brown provided a spark off the bench with 19 points while Pau Gasol contributed 13 points and eight rebounds to boot.
LaMarcus Aldridge led the Trail Blazers with 16 points, converting 7-of-16 field goal attempts on the night. Guards Steve Blake and Andre Miller created opportunities for their teammates, combining for 13 assists during the contest.
But it was to no avail, as the Lakers improved to a Western Conference-best 39-13 on the season. The Trail Blazers fell to 30-23 but remained in the playoff race with the No. 6 seed.
Lakers would go on to beat Celtics in NBA Finals
The Lakers’ mission that season was to repeat as champions and they were successful, returning to the NBA Finals and this time beating the rival Boston Celtics in seven games to win it all.
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