The Portland Trail Blazers (27 - 8) defeated the Los Angeles Lakers (11 - 24) 98 - 94 on Monday at the Moda Center in Portland. In a surprisingly even showing, the Trail Blazers were just barely able to sneak out the win against a Lakers team that came into this matchup losing seven of their last 10. The Blazers were able to use a strong fourth quarter though, out - scoring the Lakers 28 - 21, therefore securing the win in front of the home crowd Monday. Like has been the case so many times this season already, Damian Lillard and LaMarcus Aldridge led the Blazers to this victory. Lillard went 12 - for - 21 from the floor and 4 - for - 8 from the three - point line to score a game - high of 39 points, while also adding six rebounds and five assists. He was also able to convert on 11 - of - 13 attempts at the free throw line, as he consistently forced his way to the line. Aldridge on the other hand went 8 - for - 20 from the field and 1 - for - 1 from the three - point line to score 21 points, while grabbing eight rebounds. Over his last six games, he's averaging 26 points, so he continues to be extremely effective for the Blazers. The only other player to reach double figures in points was Meyers Leonard, who went a surprising 4 - for - 5 from the floor and 3 - for - 4 from beyond the arc to score 12 points. He pulled in 12 rebounds as well, giving him hist first double - double of the year. With Kobe Bryant sitting this one out, starting center Jordan Hill rode the hot hand, finishing with 23 points (10 - 15 FG, 3 - 4 FT) and 14 rebounds. The 23 points matched a season - high for Hill, while the double - double was his thirteenth of the year. Wayne Ellington filled in as the starting shooting guard and finished with 13 points (5 - 12 FG, 2 - 3 3Pt, 1 - 1 FT) and five rebounds. He played a lot more minutes than normal, and seemingly cashed in on the extra time with a solid overall game. Coming off the bench Jeremy Lin had 14 points (5 - 10 FG, 0 - 2 3Pt, 4 - 6 FT). He's played well of late, averaging 15 points over his last three games. Nick Young struggled with his shot in this one, going only 3 - for - 13 from the field and 1 - for - 4 from the three - point line to score 11 points. The Trail Blazers' next game will be at home against the Miami Heat on Thursday, while the Lakers will be the away team against the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday.
["TeamStat(G,'Trail Blazers') has 8 Losses ,has 98 Total points ,has 28 Points in 4th quarter ,has 27 Turnovers ."
 "TeamStat(G,'Lakers') has 24 Losses ,has 94 Total points ,has 21 Points in 4th quarter ,has 10 Turnovers ,has 11 Wins ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Jordan Hill') has 15 Assists ,has 10 Defensive rebounds ,has 4 3-pointers attempted ,has 3 3-pointers made ,has 23 Field goals attempted ,has 14 Field goals made ,has 1 Free throws attempted ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Wayne Ellington') has 3 Assists ,has 2 Defensive rebounds ,has 12 3-pointers attempted ,has 5 3-pointers made ,has 1 Field goals attempted ,has 1 Field goals made ,has 13 Free throws attempted ,has 5 Free throws made ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Nick Young') has 4 Assists ,has 1 Defensive rebounds ,has 13 3-pointers attempted ,has 3 3-pointers made ,has 11 Field goals attempted ,has 1 Field goals made ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Jeremy Lin') has 3 Assists ,has 2 Defensive rebounds ,has 0 3-pointers attempted ,has 10 3-pointers made ,has 5 Field goals attempted ,has 6 Field goals made ,has 4 Free throws attempted ,has 3 Free throws made ,has 14 Personal fouls ,has 3 Points ,has 1 Total rebounds ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'LaMarcus Aldridge') has 1 Assists ,has 1 Defensive rebounds ,has 20 3-pointers attempted ,has 8 3-pointers made ,has 21 Field goals attempted ,has 8 Field goals made ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Damian Lillard') has 5 Assists ,has 8 Defensive rebounds ,has 4 3-pointers attempted ,has 21 3-pointers made ,has 12 Field goals attempted ,has 13 Field goals made ,has 11 Free throws attempted ,has 39 Free throws made ,has 6 Personal fouls ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Meyers Leonard') has 4 Assists ,has 3 Defensive rebounds ,has 5 3-pointers attempted ,has 4 3-pointers made ,has 12 Field goals attempted ,has 12 Field goals made ."]