For the second time this week, the Portland Trail Blazers and Los Angeles Lakers will be matched up against each other, this time at the STAPLES Center in Downtown, Los Angeles.

In the first meeting earlier this week, the Blazers handed the Kobe-less Lakers a 98-94 loss behind Damian Lillard’s 39 points. There is no question the Lakers will need to do a better job on Lillard. They need to look for his ability to drain long threes off screens.

Lillard scored 16 of his 39 points in the final quarter and hit a big time layup late in the game to help his team win. He typically has excellent games against the Lakers. It’s up to the Lakers' point guards to contain him.

In the last meeting, Ronnie Price ate an inadvertent elbow to the face by Thomas Robinson and broke his nose. He did not play the entire fourth quarter. The Lakers also missed the services of Wesley Johnson, who is good to go tonight.

Kobe Bryant, who rested against the Blazers on Monday and against the Orlando Magic on Friday, is questionable for this game. Without Bryant in their last game, Los Angeles crushed Orlando en route to a 101-84 victory.

In that game, newest Laker Tarik Black put up a season-high 14 points and hustled down nine rebounds in 17 minutes. He was a pleasant surprise and has possibly earned himself the backup center role ahead of Robert Sacre. The Lakers played with tremendous energy and effort in Friday’s win over Orlando.

“We try to bring more energy when he’s out, play more up-tempo,” Nick Young said about playing without Bryant. However, while all the other Laker players have been solid, Young has been in a slump, shooting 9 of 41 in the last three games combined. When asked about his struggles, Young responded, “I need some love. I need some good vibes to start shooting better. I need you all to hug me after this,” he told reporters after Friday’s game.

The Blazers also played the Magic in their last game on Saturday night, and they came out winning, 103-92. LaMarcus Aldridge was the high man with 25 points, and Wesley Matthews followed with 18. Portland turned the ball over 20 times, which resulted into 23 points for Orlando, but they were still managed to win.

Coming into this game, the Blazers have won two straight against the Lakers at the STAPLES Center. After playing in a close match against the Lakers earlier this week, LaMarcus Aldridge vows for his team to play a better game.

“I thought we gave them a lot of easy things last game, and we didn’t really take anything away. I think everybody learned from that game. I think this game will be better for us,” Aldridge said.

The Blazers come in with an 11-5 road record, as this will be their first road game since December 23 when they beat the Oklahoma City Thunder in overtime. The Lakers come in with a sub-par 6-12 home record. They have a two-game winning streak on their home floor, which is the longest of the season.

The game will tip off at 9:30 pm Eastern Standard Time.