Lakers stuck in stand-by mode

PORTLAND, Ore. -- It certainly didn’t look good for the Lakers as the “Beat L.A.” chants rained down with more force than the driving precipitation earlier in the day.

A quick check of the venue wouldn’t instill much confidence in a Lakers victory either, seeing as how they had been rejected the last four times they visited the Rose Garden, even though the Portland Trail Blazers hadn’t exactly been the titans of the Western Conference in recent years.

Then it became official, the Lakers unable to overcome their turnstile defense while falling to the more physical team, 119-111, Friday.

For all their bruises, the Lakers also saw the end of their 10-game winning streak despite a season-high 17 points from Luke Walton and 33 points from Kobe Bryant, who had a series of run-ins with 7-foot-1 center Joel Przybilla in what became a microcosm of the game.

Bryant, however, faded down the stretch, turning over the ball with a pass that sailed into the backcourt on one possession, and then throwing up an off-balance shot from the corner after fumbling the ball through the lane on another possession.

The Lakers managed to tie the score at 107-107 on a three-pointer by Sasha Vujacic with 3:05 to play, but the Blazers scored 10 consecutive points until Bryant’s meaningless layup ended their run with 12.2 seconds left.

Even though beefy Laker-killer Zach Randolph now plays for New York, there were other issues that pushed the Lakers all over the court.

First off, All-Star guard Brandon Roy played despite being doubtful because of a sprained right ankle that kept him out of the Blazers’ 96-83 loss Tuesday to the Lakers. Roy had 20 points and a career-high 12 assists.

There was also the matter of Portland’s 52.9% shooting, resulting in a season-high point total.

Then there was that little thing called the first half.

The Lakers were on-court sieves, allowing 64 points on the way to a five-point halftime deficit. Pau Gasol had four points on one-for-five shooting in his least effective half with the Lakers. He finished with 15 points.

“The climate’s so bad up here that everybody’s knees hurt them,” Lakers Coach Phil Jackson said before getting serious.

“This is an aggressive team. They do a good job defending against us. I don’t think there’s any game that we’ve lost here that we haven’t deserved to lose.”

As early omens go, it sure looked like the Lakers’ night when Bryant banked in a short jumper after getting knocked to the floor by Przybilla. He then hit a free throw for a 13-5 lead.

It was the first of many tangles between the two. In the second quarter, Bryant drove the baseline and briefly pulled the ball behind the backboard before finishing with a layup and a foul by Przybilla. Bryant again hit the free throw.

Then, after Bryant was again fouled by Przybilla on a layup attempt, he jumped up and said a few words to Przybilla before clapping emphatically and nodding his head.

As Przybilla walked toward the bench, he bumped into Bryant at the free-throw line. Both players were hit with technical fouls, giving Bryant his fourth in the last four games. He now has a total of 12; if he gets four more between now and the end of the regular season, he will be automatically suspended by the league for one game.

“I didn’t deserve that one,” Bryant said. “We’ll send that one in [to the NBA], absolutely.”

Portland fans, knowing a good game when they see one and buoyed by the partial resurgence of their team this season, got into the act with a forceful “Beat L.A.” chant that reverberated through the arena during a timeout midway through the third quarter, their beloved Blazers ahead at the time, 76-74.

(In sticking with the anti-Lakers theme, brief clips of “I Love L.A.” played over the loudspeaker on several occasions after Portland scored.)

Through it all, though, the Lakers led at the end of the third quarter, 87-86, but only because Jarrett Jack fell down and fumbled the ball in the backcourt, allowing Bryant to scoop it and drill a three-pointer with 0.7 seconds left.

That was pretty much the end of it for Lakers highlights.

Portland is 18-6 against the Lakers at the Rose Garden since it opened in 1995.

“It’s a crazy league, and sometimes you have teams’ numbers,” Walton said. “Up here, they have our number.”

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mike.bresnahan@latimes.com

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

The end game

A look at the Lakers’ 10-game winning streak that ended Friday. The Lakers went from the fifth-best record in the Western Conference to a virtual tie for the best record:

LAST LOSS

Feb. 6 at Atlanta L, 98-95

THE STREAK

*--* Feb. 8 at Orlando W, 117-113 Feb. 10 at Miami W, 104-94 Feb. 11 at Charlotte W, 106-97 Feb. 13 at Minnesota W, 117-92 Feb. 19 vs. Atlanta W, 122-93 Feb. 20 at Phoenix W, 130-124 Feb. 23 at Clippers W, 113-95 Feb. 24 at Seattle W, 111-91 Feb. 26 vs. Portland W, 96-83 Feb. 28 vs. Miami W, 106-88 *--*

IT ENDS

Feb. 29 at Portland L, 119-111