PORTLAND, Ore. -- Guards Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum are one of the NBA's highest-scoring tandems this season, and they put their talents on display in front of one of the greatest ever at their position Saturday night.
Lillard and McCollum combined for 57 points to lead the Portland Trail Blazers past Kobe Bryant and Los Angeles Lakers 108-96 at the Moda Center.
Lillard scored 29 points and McCollum added 28 for the Trail Blazers (7-10), who beat the Lakers for the second time this season.
"Dame is one of the best players in the league," said Bryant, who led the Lakers with 21 points. "He is a fantastic player. And McCollum is continuing to improve. He is growing at an extremely rapid pace. It seems to be a breakout year for him.
"Their ability to navigate screen-and-rolls is excellent, and tonight they did a good job of getting into the paint and squatting behind picks."
Guard Jordan Clarkson had 19 points for the Lakers (2-13), who lost their fifth straight game.
Portland shot .487 from the field, made 12 of 30 attempts from 3-point range and won the rebound battle 46-33.
"A solid win," Portland coach Terry Stotts said. "We got off to a great start offensively. We had little lulls defensively throughout the game, but we did a lot of good things."
McCollum scored 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field to help stake Portland to a 60-46-point halftime advantage. The Blazers shot .553 from the field and knocked down 8 of 16 from beyond the 3-point stripe in the half.
"CJ's start was terrific," Stotts said. "He had it going, and that was good to see. He had a little pop to him and a good rhythm."
Back-to-back 3's got the Lakers within 63-55 early in the third quarter, and they closed to 70-65 on Clarkson's driving basket with 5:29 left in the quarter. Guard Nick Young sank consecutive 3's to close the quarter and the Lakers trailed 84-76 heading into the fourth.
It was 84-78 when the Blazers used a 7-0 spurt to go on top 91-78. The Lakers never got closer than eight points the rest of the way.
"That was a team that probably looked at us as a game they could win," Lillard said. "It's tough to beat a team two times in a row. (The Lakers) played well. I was proud of the way we came out from the jump and played hard. We played with urgency."
Bryant was 7 of 20 from the field, 1 of 5 from 3-point range and 6 of 7 from the free throw line in 34 minutes.
"I felt pretty good out there," Bryant said. "Overall, I thought I moved a lot better. I got really stiff, though, coming back in the fourth quarter.
"Twenty years into this, it's tough. The legs aren't what they used to be. But I'll continue to fight through it and take opportunities when they're there. It'll get better."
McCollum scored nine early points and Portland sank eight of its first 10 shots from the field en route to a 19-8 lead. The Blazers increased the lead to 30-15 and settled for a 34-21 advantage after one quarter, with McCollum leading the way with 14 points. Portland was 13 of 18 from the field in the quarter.
The Lakers closed the gap to 49-42 late in the second quarter, but McCollum knocked down a 3 as the Blazers closed the half with an 11-4 spurt to go into the break ahead by 14 points.
NOTES: Portland F Meyers Leonard returned to action after missing the previous seven games with a left shoulder injury, but F Noah Vonleh started the game. Leonard had seven points and six rebounds in 22 minutes. ... Lakers G Lou Williams missed the game because of the death of his grandfather. Coach Byron Scott said he expects Williams rejoin the team in Philadelphia in time to play against the 76ers on Tuesday night. ... The Blazers have won seven in a row over the Lakers. ... The Lakers are in the midst of a stretch where they play 10 of 11 games on the road, including an eight-game, 12-day trip that begins in Philly. "You play the schedule they give you, but it's like, 'Whoa,'" Scott said. "But we get the home games to make up for it at some point."
