PORTLAND, Ore. — The Los Angeles Lakers were nearly three quarters of their way to their worst loss of the season Monday when Trevor Ariza sent things from bad to "messy," to use Pau Gasol's description.

Ariza committed a flagrant foul, type-two, that left Portland's Rudy Fernandez in a neck brace and taken off the court on a stretcher with 2.2 seconds left in the third quarter of the Lakers' 111-94 loss.

Lamar Odom took about five steps off the Lakers bench — although he insisted afterward he stayed on the bench — after Portland's Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge began arguing with Ariza, putting Odom at risk for NBA suspension.

Odom appeared to be trying to come to Ariza's defense but wound up jawing briefly with Roy before Lakers assistant Kurt Rambis shepherded Odom back to the bench.

The Lakers trailed, 83-55, at the time, and Fernandez was ahead of the pack on a fastbreak as Ariza tried to come from behind with a big right-hand swing to block the shot.

But Ariza first banged the back of Fernandez's head, knocking him off balance and leading to a heavy crash to the floor on his right side.

Fernandez was conscious and alert as he left the floor, with full movement of all extremities. He sustained a soft-tissue injury to his right chest and side area and was to remain overnight in an area hospital, but diagnostic tests showed no major damage.

Josh Powell was the first Laker to join Ariza in the mix, and Powell drew a technical foul for getting involved, as did Portland's Travis Outlaw and Aldridge.

"It wasn't anything I was trying to do," Ariza said. "I was just going for the ball."

Said Roy: "It's hard to watch your teammate lying down and them bringing out a stretcher. That was a tough moment for all of us."

The Lakers' worst previous loss this season was by 12 points at Sacramento on Dec. 9. And to lose worse than that was certainly disappointing to Kobe Bryant, who just minutes after the Lakers breezed past Minnesota on Friday night could cite the motivating specifics of the Portland game.

Bryant noted the opportunity to "snap that road losing streak" and win in Portland for the first time "in four years." Instead, the Lakers were down by seven points midway through the first quarter, 15 early in the second quarter, 23 at halftime and 30 late in the third quarter.

The loss was their third consecutive on the road, and Bryant left without speaking to reporters after a game in which he shot 11 of 29 from the field to score 26 points.

BYNUM IN APRIL

When asked before the game for an update on Andrew Bynum's attempt to return from his torn knee ligament, Lakers coach Phil Jackson said: "There's nothing that's going to go on here until April."

So the Lakers apparently aren't expecting Bynum to beat the minimum projected timetable for a return, which had been eight weeks. Bynum was diagnosed on Feb. 2 as expected to miss 8-12 weeks, meaning the short end would have Bynum back March 30.

Jackson had hinted last week that it would be until April for Bynum's return, but he firmed it up Monday night, saying: "We're just allowing this part of his body to heal and come back at the appropriate time. ... Don't ask me again until April."

Odom has cooled off after his initial outstanding play filling in for Bynum, and Jackson kidded before the game about Odom being "affected by the astrological sequences."

NOTES

The Lakers dropped to just a half-game ahead of Cleveland for the NBA's best record. ... San Antonio's Manu Ginobili is not expected to return from his ankle injury to face the Lakers on Thursday night. ... Jackson was critical of Odom's retooled free-throw routine, describing it as "moving around on the line, changing his feet after he gets started into his shot motion."