Final: Trail Blazers 136, Lakers 129
The Portland Trail Blazers are 3-0. They handed the Lakers their first loss of the season on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena, closing the game on an 18-9 run. Luka Doncic scored 41 points, but Portland had too many answers.
The Lakers are now 3-1.
How Portland won it
- The Lakers started fast and led 21-11 early.
- Portland tied it at 42 in the second quarter with a 13-4 run.
- Los Angeles led by one going into the fourth quarter, and Ziaire Williams’ three put the Lakers up two with 4:43 left.
- Then Portland took over with an 18-9 run to finish. Damian Lillard’s three with 43 seconds left sealed it.
The Blazers shot 59% from the field and made 18 of 36 threes.
Top performers
| Player | Team | Stats |
|---|---|---|
| Luka Doncic | Lakers | 41 points, 9 assists |
| Austin Reaves | Lakers | 26 points, 7 assists |
| Sandro Mamukelashvili | Lakers | 17 points |
| Ja Morant | Blazers | 23 points (9 of 13 shooting) |
| Deni Avdija | Blazers | 23 points, 9 assists |
| Jrue Holiday | Blazers | 22 points |
| Damian Lillard | Blazers | 21 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists |
Portland’s new backcourt is working
With Lillard, Morant and Holiday, Portland has one of the most experienced guard groups in the league, and it showed in the fourth quarter. The Blazers have now beaten Phoenix, Sacramento and the Lakers.
Doncic is on a scoring run
Doncic scored 52 against Utah last week and 41 here. He’s been one of the league’s top scorers to start the season, and he’ll keep putting up big numbers. But the Lakers’ defense gave up 136 points, and that’s the bigger worry.
What’s next
- Lakers at Clippers, Wednesday, 10:30 pm ET (second night of a back-to-back)
- Grizzlies at Trail Blazers, Thursday
See tonight’s full schedule in NBA games tonight.
Sources: 365Scores – NBA night recap, Rip City Radio, ESPN.
