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Sometimes just one star is needed.
The Portland Trail Blazers came to Moda Center on Friday night looking for a rebound win against the Los Angeles Lakers after a five-game losing streak. Looking for something and getting it are two different things. The young Trail Blazers finally tipped the LeBron James windmill. The Mount Rushmore veteran not only destroyed their harvest but also stole their horses on the mountain. James scored 35 points, 5 rebounds and 9 assists, leading the Lakers to a 107-95 victory.
The Trail Blazers, led by Jerami Grant, scored 24 points on 8-of-20 shooting and 4-of-9 three-pointers. All five of the Trail Blazers’ starters scored in double figures, but the Trail Blazers’ bench only scored a total of 12 points.
The loss moved the Trail Blazers to 3-9 on the season and 1-2 in the NBA In-Season Tournament qualifying group stage. The Lakers lead 3-0 in Group A, which means the Trail Blazers are out.
the first season
Deandre Ayton got the game going with a couple of mid-range shots, one of which hit. But pulling the Lakers’ big men out of the middle seems like a good idea. This is offensive, though. Los Angeles has no problem getting the ball down the lane on offense, whether it’s short shots or killer 3-pointers. Los Angeles hit three early three-pointers to take an 11-4 lead with three minutes left in the game. Unless something changes, the Blazers’ mid-range attempts can’t make up for the Lakers’ cuts and bombs, no matter how high their shooting percentage is.
Ayton continued to perform well in this quarter, scoring 6 of the Trail Blazers’ first 8 points. He looked stable and secure. But so do the Lakers. Midway through the game, they started converting Portland turnovers into running scores. That was bad news for the Trail Blazers, who trailed 20-11 with 6:41 left in the first timeout.
Portland continued to struggle, grabbing offensive rebounds and scoring at the rim to balance their jump-shooting attack, but they also started turning the ball over more. That made L.A.’s shots easier. As is typical this season, the opponent’s total score approached 30 points long before the end of the first quarter.
Portland’s defense looked much better against the Lakers’ second unit than it did against the starters. Ayton continued to score, finishing with 8 points. Shaden Sharpe also scored his 1,000th point as a Trail Blazer on a layup over Anthony Davis with 2:00 left in the game, becoming the youngest player in franchise history to reach that mark. All this gave the Lakers a 30-23 lead.
second quarter
Jerami Grant stepped up at the start of the second quarter and hit a short jumper and a three-pointer. The Trail Blazers closed within half a nanosecond. But LeBron James and Christian Wood stopped that, hitting five shots within 10 feet. As usual, Portland’s interior defense was defensive in name only. With 6:00 left in the game, Los Angeles led by eight points, 46-34.
Jabari Walker and Ayton became busy in the second half of the second quarter, doing their best to block the penalty area defensively and redirect Portland’s scoring inside. No one is surprised. LeBron and AD are better. The Lakers’ inside headers were more successful than before, pushing the lead back to double digits. Add in more groundbreaking content and that’s a recipe for straight-up uh-huh. The Trail Blazers had a small climax in the final quarter, but the Lakers still led 60-50 at halftime.
the third quater
The Trail Blazers launched a forced second-half counterattack at the beginning of the third quarter. Skylar Mays and Jerami Grant each hit two 3-pointers. These 12 points alone exceeded the 9 points the Lakers scored in the first 5:00 of this quarter. Mays’ second three-pointer tied the score at 1, 68-67 with 7:46 left in the game.
The score remained the same over the next few minutes. Both teams fumbled the ball, dropped the ball and had their shots blocked. That’s not bad for Portland, though. It’s hard to undo a run when no one scores.
LeBron’s three-pointer with 5:28 left showed that the Lakers still knew what they were doing. A few rounds later, James missed a layup, Davis got the rebound but missed the tip-in, and then Los Angeles got the rebound again and passed the ball to LeBron for another three-pointer. These are things the Trail Blazers can’t afford.
Despite offensive rebounds and second chances, the Trail Blazers were evenly matched. In the last 7 minutes and 45 seconds of this quarter, they only scored 8 points. After three points, the Lakers led 82-75.
fourth quarter
LeBron James did LeBron things early in the fourth quarter, dishing out assists to Christian Wood and Taurean Prince and draining three-pointers in between successful shots from his teammates. With two minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Lakers already led by 12 points. After that, James’ passing began to show off a bit. It’s like watching a runner in a marathon who’s half a mile ahead suddenly start the final push at mile 20. A brazen confidence that no one caught him. No one either. Head coach Chauncey Billups brought in a deep bench before it got too old this quarter. Might as well give them a run. There will be no answers in this game.
Next
Stay tuned for expanded analysis coming soon!
box score
The Trail Blazers will take on the Oklahoma City Thunder at Moda Center on Sunday night, with tipoff set for 6:00 p.m.
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