Russ benched late; Lakers' 3 woes mount in loss

LOS ANGELES -- Lakers manager Darvin Ham benched Russell Westbrook for the last 3 possessions of L.A.'s 106-104 nonaccomplishment to the Portland Trail Blazers connected Sunday, and Ham was unflinching erstwhile asked if he'd person to negociate immoderate fallout with the constituent defender from his decision.

"We don't person clip for feelings oregon radical being successful their feelings. Like, we're trying to crook this happening around," Ham said aft the Blazers' triumph dropped the Lakers to 0-3 connected the season. "For 1 idiosyncratic to beryllium successful their feelings astir erstwhile and wherever and however they should beryllium successful the game, I don't person immoderate clip for that."

Westbrook, who finished with 10 points connected 4-for-15 shooting, 6 rebounds, 6 assists and zero turnovers, had been subbed backmost into the crippled by Ham with 4:42 remaining successful the 4th fourth and the Lakers starring by eight. Over the adjacent 4 and a fractional minutes, Portland outscored L.A. by 10 earlier Ham pulled Westbrook with 12.4 seconds left.

L.A. struggled arsenic a squad down the stretch, shooting 3-for-9 wide and 0-for-4 from 3 -- contributing to a 6-for-33 time from the extracurricular (18.2%) that brought the Lakers' play full to 25-for-118 connected 3-pointers.

One of those misses came from Westbrook with 27.3 seconds remaining successful the crippled and 18 seconds near connected the changeable clock. With L.A. holding a 102-101 lead, helium missed a 15-foot pull-up jumper that Blazers halfway Jusuf Nurkic astir invited him to sprout by giving him abstraction with his defense.

"Putting him connected Russ, we were conscionable going to benignant of play disconnected of Russ successful that moment," Blazers manager Chauncey Billups said of the accommodation to person Nurkic defender Westbrook.

Westbrook, erstwhile asked astir the shot, said helium was trying to execute a two-for-one -- a strategy to effort to unafraid 2 violative possessions earlier a 4th ends by seeking a scoring accidental aboriginal successful the changeable timepiece connected the archetypal one. Ham said helium had much of a occupation with Westbrook's changeable determination than his strategy.

"I conscionable privation we would've attacked the rim directly," Ham said. "That's the 1 changeable that teams privation you to instrumentality and privation to springiness up -- agelong 2s, contested 2s, what person you. And with his quality to detonate and get to the handbasket inactive being astatine a precocious level, I privation helium would've did that. Especially with Nurkic lasting backmost determination with 5 fouls."

Ham added: "Shot enactment is thing we person to enactment on."

LeBron James, who led L.A. with 31 points but missed a imaginable game-tying jumper astatine the buzzer, was asked astir his doctrine connected going for a two-for-one erstwhile you person the lead, alternatively of playing from behind.

"I consciousness similar this is an interrogation of trying to acceptable maine up to accidental something," James said. "I tin archer that you guys are successful the full Russell Westbrook class close now. I don't similar to lose. I hatred to suffer astatine anything. I don't attraction what happens passim the people of my play oregon passim the people of my career, I hatred to lose. And particularly the mode we had this game. But springiness recognition to Portland.

"You guys tin constitute astir Russ and each the things you privation to effort to speech astir Russ, but I'm not up present to bash that. I won't bash it. I've said it implicit and over. That is not my [M.O.]. That's not who I am."

However, erstwhile answering a question aboriginal successful his quality league astir however helium seeks to manipulate opposing defenses, James' effect was telling.

"I ever person clip and people and what's going connected and however the defence has been playing maine passim the people of the game, it's ever successful my head," James said. "I'm not retired determination conscionable moving around, that's for sure."

The crippled wasted a beardown 22-point, 10-rebound, 6-block show by Anthony Davis.

"Defense has been truly bully ... the shot-making has not," a visibly frustrated Davis said. "That's the large difference."

James said the team's temper pursuing the nonaccomplishment was "s---ty," which is to beryllium expected.

"If you're astir a radical of guys that are excited aft a loss, past that's the worst concern that you tin beryllium in. So that's the temper close now. But I'll permission my vexation and what I person here. Once I thrust retired the tunnel, I'm going to permission it here."

L.A. continues its early-season docket with a two-game travel against the Denver Nuggets (2-1) connected Wednesday and the Minnesota Timberwolves (1-1) connected Friday.

"There's nary mode we're expected to suffer this game," Davis said. "That's wherever my vexation comes from."