Overview
- Los Angeles won on the second night of a back-to-back without LeBron James, Luka Dončić or Austin Reaves, reversing last week’s result.
- Deandre Ayton marked his first game back in Portland since his buyout with 29 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks on 14-of-19 shooting.
- Deni Avdija led the Trail Blazers with 33 points, while Shaedon Sharpe added 23 and Jerami Grant scored 18 off the bench.
- Rui Hachimura scored 28 and two-way guard Nick Smith Jr. delivered 25 points with six assists as the Lakers shot 59% inside the arc and 9-of-23 from deep.
- Portland forced 17 turnovers for 28 points and tallied 20 fast-break points, but the efficiency gap decided the game ahead of Wednesday’s home date with the Thunder.