Luka Doncic scored a season-high 53 points and the Los Angeles Lakers rallied from 16 points down to beat the Portland Trail Blazers 124-118 on Friday night at Crypto.com Arena, earning their first win of NBA Cup Group C play and avenging last week’s loss to the same team.
Doncic finished 17 of 33 from the field, 5 of 15 from three-point range and 14 of 18 from the free-throw line, adding five rebounds and five assists in 38 minutes. It was his fourth consecutive game with at least 40 points, the first Laker to do that since Kobe Bryant in 2012, and his 11th career 50-point game, tying Allen Iverson for 10th most in NBA history.
For nearly 24 minutes, the Lakers could not buy a shot. They missed their first 15 three-point attempts and made just 3 of 23 from distance in the first half, while Portland led by as many as 16 points and went into halftime ahead 60-53. Then Doncic banked in a 62-foot heave from three-quarter court at the halftime buzzer, and the night turned. It was only LA’s fourth make from deep in 23 attempts, and it capped a 6-0 run to close the half.
Los Angeles opened the third quarter with a 34-15 run. Doncic scored 20 points in the quarter alone, outscoring the entire Portland team by five, and the Lakers carried an 87-75 lead into the fourth. Portland closed to 114-110 with 50.8 seconds left after two Damian Lillard free throws, but Doncic sealed it with a floater with 27.7 seconds remaining, moving past the 50-point mark. Doncic and Reaves combined for 10 points in the final seconds after the Lakers’ late 12-point lead had dwindled to four.
Austin Reaves added 25 points and Walker Kessler had 16 points and 12 rebounds for the Lakers, who forced 24 Portland turnovers and turned them into 28 points. Los Angeles improved to 8-2 on the season and 1-1 in NBA Cup Group C play.
For Portland, Lillard scored 22 points and Deni Avdija had 22 points, nine rebounds and 11 assists. Donovan Clingan added 14 points and 11 rebounds. The Trail Blazers fell to 6-2 and 0-1 in Cup play, losing for the first time on the road this season.
Doncic is now averaging 40.1 points per game, the league’s leading scorer, and the Lakers have won four in a row. It was his seventh straight game with at least 35 points and his second 50-point game of the season, after 52 against Utah on October 25. “I’m having a lot of fun,” Doncic said after the game. “He’s incredible to watch,” Kessler said of his teammate.
They are off on Saturday before opening a four-game road trip on Sunday against the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena, with tipoff at 3:00 p.m. PT. Portland, whose three-game winning streak ended Friday, hosts the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday night.
Source: NBA / Los Angeles Lakers. Box score: Sportradar.
Redacción LAMomentum
