Lakers bounce back in team win over Trail Blazers.
LOS ANGELES — The Lakers bounced back from Monday’s Pacers meltdown to beat the Trail Blazers 128–109 behind a 31-point game from LeBron James and improve their season record to 8–12.
“They played the right way on both sides of the ball. I'm highly encouraged," said head coach Darvin Ham of the team's effort and performance.
With a 12–4 start to the game, it looked as though it was going to be that type of game where the Lakers start slow and trail big in a hurry before putting it all to bed with a consistent 2nd, 3rd, and even 4th quarter to finish out the Blazers.
Finishing with a game-high 31 points, LeBron was able to shake off his poor shooting night in Monday’s loss with a 66% outing from the floor, knocking down 6-of-8 (75%) shots from three while adding 8 assists and 7 rebounds in 32 minutes.
The Lakers had arguably their best overall win as a team in Wednesday’s win, with not only LeBron having a big night but also Anthony Davis and Austin Reaves, who combined for 49 points.
Following a quiet, disappointing fourth quarter in Monday's loss to the Pacers, the Lakers (and AD) were determined to heavily involve the big man in the final quarter, with the big man scoring 14 fourth-quarter points to help lift the Lakers to victory.
“This team is starting to gel on both ends of the floor,” said Anthony Davis.
Davis finished with his 8th straight double-double, scoring 27 points and 12 rebounds while adding 3 blocks, 1 steal, and 1 assist in 29 minutes.
With Lonnie Walker IV and Troy Brown Jr. sidelined for Wednesday’s game, Austin Reaves took full advantage of his opportunity in the starting lineup with a season-high night.
“Good win, good team basketball. It’s good to close out a game. We’ll learn from these,” said Reaves post-game, with LeBron moments later video-bombing Reaves, saying, “Yeah, motherlover,” not wanting to be explicit.
Reaves finished with a season-high 21 points on an efficient 7-for-10 (70%) shooting total from the floor, adding 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block in 35 minutes.
The Lakers will begin their six-game road trip this Friday against the 15–5 Milwaukee Bucks at 4:30 PM on Spectrum SportsNet and ESPN.
