The Lakers were without Lebron James Saturday night against the Trail Blazers, so things weren’t looking good from the get go. The Blazers got out to a blistering start, burying the Lakers from the very beginning, all the way to a 105 – 90 win that was a lot worse than it looked for LA.
The Blazers put pedal to the metal in the first quarter jumping out to a 17-10 lead. Dame Lillard put up 10 points early to help set the tone, and knocked the Lakers off balance so bad, Anthony Davis left before the quarter ended with an upset stomach.
Carmelo Anthony tried to help LA in his first game back at the Moda Center since switching to purple and yellow this off-season. But, he limped away with a 12 point effort, shooting just 4-14 from the field and going 0-4 from deep.
Kent Bazemore also a former Blazer and a starter this season for the Lakers had another disappointing outing finishing with just 4 points on 1-3 shooting, while missing his only three point attempt.
It was Russell Westbrook though who had perhaps the worst night for the Lakers. Without two of their stars, LA was relying on Westbrook, who shares an ongoing rivalry with Blazers guard Damian Lillard. Westbrook finished with just 8 pts on 1-13 shooting and 1-3 from deep. He did record 8 rebounds and 6 assists.
The Lakers had trouble finding a concerted energy against the Blazers. The most energy seemed to come from Dwight Howard, who immediately upon entering the game, picked up an offensive foul for knocking Robert Covington to the court.
Rookie Austin Reaves and Sekou Doumbouya provided some energy off the bench finishing with 10 points a piece, and helping cleanup what was otherwise a disaster.
Damian Lillard had one of his best shooting nights this season against the Lakers. Though, he still struggled at times, Lillard was hitting some familiar shots, and looking a bit more like his star self. He finished with 25 pts, shooting 9-19 from the field and 6-14 from three.
Jusuf Nurkic put up 15 pts and 17 rebounds on a perfect 6-6 shooting from the field for the best all around game of the night.
The Blazers head out onto the road to face the Clippers Tuesday.
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