Los Angeles Lakers Team Report - April 14

(Basketball News) - The Los Angeles Lakers try to keep their hopes of winning the Pacific Division and earning the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference alive tonight, as they visit the Portland Trail Blazers at the Rose Garden.

This is the fourth meeting of the season between the squads. The teams split a pair of games at the Staples Center, while Portland beat the Lakers, 91-80, on December 13 at the Rose Garden.

The Lakers have lost 13 of their last 15 at Portland.

If the Lakers win and the Sacramento Kings lose to the Golden State Warriors tonight, then LA would win the Pacific. If both the Kings and Lakers are victorious, then Sacramento wins the division because it owns the tiebreaker edge.

LA, which is one game behind third-place San Antonio in the conference standings, could earn the No. 3 spot with a win and a Spurs loss to the Denver Nuggets by virtue of a 3-1 advantage in the season series. The Lakers could play Dallas, Memphis or Houston in the first round.

On Tuesday, Kobe Bryant scored a season-high 45 points to lead the Lakers to a 109-104 victory over the Warriors at the Staples Center. Bryant finished 14- of-29 from the field and 17-of-18 from the free throw line. He also had seven rebounds and eight assists.

Shaquille O’Neal scored 23 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in the win for the Lakers.

The Lakers are a respectable 21-19 on the road this season. LA is 13-3 in Wednesday games.