Lakers Highlights: LeBron James & Austin Reaves Carry Offense Against Trail Blazers
Yesterday at 03:13 AM
Coming back from the All-Star break, the Los Angeles Lakers dropped what should’ve been an easy win against the Charlotte Hornets. The Lakers didn’t get much of a chance to lick their wounds, though, as they traveled up north to take on the Portland Trail Blazers on the second night of a back-to-back.
Los Angeles entered the evening shorthanded as Luka Doncic and Jarred Vanderbilt were ruled out, leaving the team pretty thin in the front court. Meanwhile, Portland came in as underdogs due to their three-game losing streak though they still couldn’t be taken lightly as they had won their previous six home games.
After the Lakers raced out to an 18-point lead, the Trail Blazers battled back the rest of the way and nearly stole a victory. However, Los Angeles got the stops they needed at the end to take a hard-earned victory.
Without Doncic alongside him, LeBron James understood that he needed to be more aggressive as a scorer on the offensive end. Although James has been nursing a sore ankle, he didn’t look any worse for wear against Portland because he was all over the floor on both ends.
James did everything in his power to ensure that the Lakers got a win as he scored from every spot in the half court while still exerting effort and energy on the defensive end. Although the Blazers did well to be physical with James and make him earn his points, the King still found a way to prevail in the end.
LeBron led all scorers with 40 points, but also added eight rebounds, four assists, two steals and one block. James also committed 11 turnovers, tying his career high.
James didn’t do everything himself as Austin Reaves also stepped up as a scorer with Doncic out. Reaves was as crafty as ever getting to the rim and finishing through contact though multiple points of the game.
However, Reaves was impressive on the defensive end as well as he made several plays on that end to seal the win. Reaves nearly matched James’ scoring output as he put up 32 points with 12 of them coming at the free throw line. He also added seven assists, one rebound, two steals and two blocks.
What’s next for the Lakers
The Lakers’ road trip continues on Saturday when they take on the Denver Nuggets in primetime. They’ll then return home to host Luka Doncic’s former team the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday.
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