Lakers still beat Trail Blazers without LeBron James

Jessica Archie-USA TODAY Sports

After a four-game road trip, the Los Angeles Lakers return home on Sunday night to host the Portland Trail Blazers.

Both teams were shorthanded for this game, with the most notable injury being LeBron James, who missed the game with a calf contusion. The Lakers were still able to take care of things though, winning 116-110 to move to .500 at 5-5.

Rui Hachimura started in place of LeBron and immediately gave the Lakers the lead with a dunk after the opening game. Although the Lakers took an early lead, they then made some stupid mistakes that allowed the Trail Blazers to tie the score at 12.

In fact, the Lakers were already trailing 22-16 before new sixth man Austin Reeves came in and provided a spark. He and Cam Reddish both connected from deep to tie the game again.

Reddish scored 10 points in the first quarter, and then Christian Wood completed a three-pointer. The Lakers entered the second quarter with a 31-28 lead.

Shaedon Sharpe started to heat up early in the second quarter as the Trail Blazers went on a 14-3 run. Matisse Thybulle isn’t known for his shooting, but he also performed well with a few corner three-pointers.

D’Angelo Russell was strong at the end of the first half, setting up Hachimura and Anthony Davis for easy scores, and despite another three-pointer from Thybulle, the Trail Blazers led 57-56 at halftime.

Russell continued his strong performance in the third quarter, scoring two early goals to help Los Angeles regain the lead.

The Lakers began to open up the gap, and Reeves scored five points in a row, giving the Lakers a double-digit lead for the first time. After a relatively calm first half, Davis also began to exert force and dominated both offense and defense. The Lakers led 91-80 at the end of the third quarter.

Davis was on the bench at the start of the fourth quarter, and the Trail Blazers immediately went on a 9-0 run, forcing Davon Ham to call a quick timeout. Jerami Grant then hit an open three-pointer to start a 12-0 run and score one point, before Davis returned and scored 7 consecutive points to restore order.

However, the Blazers responded with another offense, so the game remained close heading into the final minutes.

Rui Hachimura contributed some important points for the Lakers in the final moments, scoring four points in a row. Taurian Prince then stole the ball and made a layup in transition, giving the Lakers a 108-103 lead. Grant came out hot in the second half and immediately responded with another three-pointer.

As had been the case all night, the Lakers started attacking in the paint from there, with Davis and Hachimura both scoring to seal the victory.

Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? It’s the best way to watch player interviews, exclusive coverage of events, attend live shows, and more!