LeBron James, Reaves Wow Fans as Lakers Bounce Back with Win vs. Blazers Without Luka
There will be no extended losing streak for the Los Angeles Lakers.
While they were without Luka Dončić as he continues to work his way fully back from a calf injury, they managed a 110-102 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers in Thursday's Western Conference showdown at Moda Center.
Los Angeles snapped a two-game losing streak in the process and improved to 33-21, while Portland lost its fourth straight and fell to 23-33.
It was the LeBron James (40 points and eight rebounds) and Austin Reaves (32 points and seven assists) show for the Lakers, as they were the only ones to score more than 10 points on the winning side. But that was enough to outlast 28 points, five assists and four rebounds from Deni Avdija for the Trail Blazers.
James and Reaves drew plenty of reaction for their strong showings:
It seemed like the visitors were going to cruise when they jumped out to an 18-point lead in the first half with Reaves thriving in an elevated role with Dončić sidelined. He consistently got to the free-throw line while pouring in 19 points by intermission.
To Portland's credit, it closed the gap to eight by halftime with a balanced scoring effort to help counter the two-man attack from the Lakers. Its perimeter defense also forced a number of turnovers from James and prevented the Purple and Gold from establishing any type of rhythm from beyond the arc.
The Trail Blazers didn't go anywhere, as Avdija was dominant in the third quarter with a combination of outside shots and drives into the lane. The balanced attack that defined their efforts in the first half took a backseat to the forward's individual efforts.
Avdija wasn't the only reason the Lakers struggled to pull away.
Nobody besides James and Reaves was creating any scoring chances, as the offense bogged down when they weren't the ones attacking. Having a healthy Dončić back will change that formula, but it was clear Los Angeles needed more firepower elsewhere to fully separate from Portland.
James surely felt he needed to force the issue at times, which is one reason he finished with 11 turnovers.
But an all-time great forcing the issue can also lead to plenty of good, which is what happened in the fourth quarter. The King drilled back-to-back triples and then took advantage of the defense extending with multiple midrange shots to push the lead back to double digits.
Throw in a clutch three from Reaves down the stretch, and the Lakers now have some momentum heading into Saturday's road game against the Denver Nuggets.
