Portland coach Nate McMillan drew a heart on the play board in his pregame address and gave a passionate speech aimed at stopping the Trail Blazers' six-game skid in the face of Kobe Bryant's scoring spree.

The Trail Blazers "held" Bryant to 41 points, ending his streak of 45-plus at four games, and beat the Los Angeles Lakers 113-103 on Wednesday night.

"They came out and played a lot harder than we did," Bryant said. "After the last showing they had on their home floor, I think they took it upon themselves and played with more effort and more heart. And they did it."