The Los Angeles Lakers are 0-2 after losing to the Portland Trail Blazers 116-106 Wednesday.
It was a rather inauspicious start for the Los Angeles Lakers. They've lost two games in a row, the first one against the Dallas Mavericks.
As if that was not enough, two of their players sustained injuries. Steve Nash, the two-time MVP and Dwight Howard, the six-time All-Star, were injured in Wednesday's game against Portland.
Howard, who had 33 points and 14 rebounds, said: "We've got to learn how to play together. You've got to be good before you can be great."
The talent-laden Lakers seemed to be struggling against the Blazers, at one point trailing by as many as 19 points.
"We didn't expect to just come together and be awesome," Howard added. "It's always a process. We've got to stick with it so that at the end of the year we can have a trophy."
Nash had a collision with Damian Lillard and was seen limping to the locker room. He was clearly struggling when he returned to play in the second half and left the game again soon after.
Although he seemed fine initially, the team confirmed he had a bruised leg. He is, however, hopeful of playing the Los Angeles Clippers in their next match on Friday.
Nash said: "We're not sharp. I think the guys are trying, we just didn't live up to what we're trying to do."
Lillard, meanwhile, said that the Blazers played energetically and looked pretty determined. "People probably didn't expect us to come out and beat that type of team, but we've been competing very hard in practice, and we did that same thing tonight," he said. "We were flying around, lots of energy. I think our activity kind of wore on them."
After Wesley Matthews' three pointer in the first quarter, Portland pulled out to a 30-26 lead with Lillard then extending it to 35-26 as they went into halftime leading 62-57.
Portland continued playing impressively in the second half. Matthews' jumper extended the lead to 102-83 in the fourth quarter while Nicolas Batum made it 108-94 with a three and it appeared the game was out of reach for the Lakers.
Lakers coach Mike Brown said: "The morale is fine, but nobody wants to lose. We've just got to focus on what it will take for us to get a win. That's defense, first, and then, obviously, we've got to take care of the basketball."
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