Getty Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers passes the ball as Anthony Davis.
Another night, another win for the Lakers against another top NBA team. Since kicking off their grueling road trip, all the Lakers have done is gone 3-0 against the Nuggets, Jazz, and now Blazers. All three teams made the playoffs last year and the Lakers were able to win comfortably in all three affairs.
LeBron James and Anthony Davis once again led the way for the Lakers and put up video game numbers in the runaway win. Now, owners of a 20-3 record, the Lakers head back home to try and improve on their league-best mark against the Orlando Magic on Sunday.
Lakers Score/Result
Lakers Win – 136-113
The Good From the Lakers’ Win Over the Portland Trail Blazers
Big man with the 4-point play. Is there anything @AntDavis23 can’t do?
(📺: @SpectrumSN)
Anthony Davis
Anthony Davis stepped up with .a huge night against the Blazers.and carried the Laker offense for most of the early going. While James would come to life in a big way during the second half, Davis provided the Lakers with a dominant night from wire to wire.
Perhaps most importantly, Davis’ three-point shot seems to be finally coming back to him and it was good to see Davis take more advantage of his jumper. While his shot has been slow to start the season, he can ill afford to shy away from it as his multi-level scoring is one of the things that makes him so incredibly dangerous on the offensive end.
Davis finished the night with 39 points, nine rebounds, two assists, two steals, and three blocks.
LeBron James
LeBron’s three-point shot was on tonight which means of course he had a monster night. While Davis led the way in scoring, James was once again the driving force behind the Laker offense. Leading the team in assists while providing the Lakers with a massive scoring effort of his own, James had yet another incredibly well-rounded performance.
Highlighted by an incredible third-quarter run where James scored 11 consecutive points on his own, James was magnificent. He would finish with 31 points, seven rebounds, eight assists, and one block, in the Laker win.
The Bench
As strong as the starters played, the Lakers won’t lose many games when the bench plays as well as it did tonight. Shooting a combined 15 for 28, the bench was hyper-efficient and posted exceptional plus/minus numbers across the board. Despite losing Rondo for the second half, the Laker bench was still able to take advantage of the Blazers’ lack of depth and was a major factor in why the Lakers were able to hold a comfortable lead for the duration of the game.
The Bad From the Lakers’ Win Over the Portland Trail Blazers
Turnovers
The turnovers weren’t terrible but the fact of the matter is the Lakers lost the ball more times than they turned it over themselves. While they were still able to simply overpower the Blazers tonight, taking care of the basketball has been an issue with the team throughout the entire season.
James was considerably better at not turning the ball over tonight and the Lakers’ ability to win the turnover battle is a major factor for a team whose gameplan is built around a heightened emphasis on the defensive end.
The Ugly From the Lakers’ Win Over the Portland Trail Blazers
There wasn’t a specific incident or time on the Rondo hamstring strain. He told the medical staff at halftime that he had tightness in the area. No further testing has been done to this point.
Rajon Rondo Injury
The Lakers had a relatively strong night all around and the undoubted worst thing from the evening was seeing Rajon Rondo both go down with an injury in the first half. Rondo played a strong first half yet was a notable absence to the Lakers in the second half. Dealing with some tightness in his hamstring, further tests will offer a bit more clarity as to what Rondo’s status might be moving forward.