By Jim Taylor
TrailBlazers.com

Las Vegas, NV – For three quarters Wednesday night it looked liked the Portland Trail Blazers would get their first 2007 NBA Summer League victory, but costly mistakes down the stretch allowed the Los Angeles Lakers to rally for a 81-73 win at the Thomas and Mack Center. (Watch the video recap.)

With Portland up by 10 points (52-62) with 8:31 left in the fourth quarter, the Lakers went on a 16-2 run to close out the Trail Blazers, who fell to 0-3 in summer league play. The Lakers improved to 2-1.

Martell Webster had another impressive showing at the offensive end for Portland with 18 points (6-12 FG, 6-7 FT) and four rebounds in 25 minutes.

“I thought we played great as a team collectively, but we shot ourselves in the foot,” said Webster. “I thought that we did better and the fact that we didn’t have some of our guys, I thought some of the other guys stepped up and really played with some pride, but in the end we wanted the win and we let that one go.”

The Trail Blazers forced the Lakers into more turnovers, 18-16, but many of Portland’s turnovers came at key moments of the fourth quarter where the Lakers outscored the Trail Blazers, 31-14.

“They increased their pressure with their guards and we couldn’t transport the ball safely,” said Trail Blazers assistant coach Monty Williams. “It’s a tough one to take again, but at the same time we had a chance to see our guys in a pressure situation.”

Portland’s Zendon Hamilton, filling in for Greg Oden at center, scored 16 points (5-7 FG, 6-14 FT) in 28 minutes of action. Josh McRoberts added eight points (4-8 FG) and four rebounds.

Javaris Crittenton paced the Lakers attack with 26 points (10-17 FG), while Jordan Farmar added 17 points (5-11 FG), including a three-pointer with just over a minute left to seal the game.

“We started off well, I began the game on the bench to give the rookies a chance to play and more time,” said Farmer. “We slowed the game down and picked it up defensively and were able to get the win.”

NOTES: The game featured 17 lead changes and five ties. LaMarcus Aldridge sat out the game with a bruised heel. An MRI of Aldridge’s heel came back negative, but his status for Portland’s remaining two summer league games this weekend is uncertain. Assistant coach Monty Williams denied rumors that he’s had conversations with the Seattle SuperSonics about an assistant coaching job under their new head coach P.J. Carlesimo. Trail Blazers Courtside on KXL 750 AM will broadcast live from the ESPN SportsZone in Las Vegas on Thursday from 6-8 p.m. Guests include LaMarcus Aldridge and Trail Blazers assistant general manager Tom Penn.