Sometimes after a long road trip, the best recipe is coming home and regrouping. The Lakers (25-27) did just that following their 99-94 victory over the visiting Portland Trail Blazers.
Early on, the Lake Show looked like they were going to cruise to their 25th win of the campaign, after a 28-16 first quarter. Portland turned it on in the middle frames and at one point led by as many as six. But the Lakers were not going to go quietly into the night.
L.A. regained their early rhythm and slowly started to put the game out of reach for the Blazers thanks in large part to Anthony Davis, who scored 11 of the last 15 Laker points.
Davis ended the contest with 30 points, 15 rebounds, three blocks and two assists for his 15th double-double of the season (second in his last four games since returning from injury). While he missed the game in Charlotte, AD has now scored 27-plus points in three-straight games, showing just how vital he is to the Lakers lineup.
Carmelo Anthony started hot and stayed hot throughout tonight’s contest. Off the bench, Melo scored 24 points on 8-of-12 from the field (5-of-6 from three) and added eight rebounds, two assists and two steals and led the team in plus/minus (+15).
Melo has hit double-digit points in eight of the last ten games and continues to be a spark under the bright lights of Crypto.com Arena.
For the rest of the team, Russell Westbrook earned his 22nd double-double of the year with 13 assists and 10 rebounds to go along with nine points and one steal. It is the second time this season Westbrook has recorded a double-double without scoring double-digit points. Avery Bradley contributed 11 points and knocked down three triples and Dwight Howard added 10 points and seven rebounds in 11 minutes.
Portland was able to stay in the game due to Laker turnovers and executing on the opposite end. The Trail Blazers scored 24 points off of 17 giveaways by L.A. while the Lakers only scored one point off of the 13 turnovers made by the Blazers.
Even with the win tonight, the Purple and Gold will look to fix their miscues as they will be right back in action tomorrow night. The Lakers will be playing as the road team even though they will not have to play in a different arena. They’ll take on their rivals in the LA Clippers, who will be the designated home team for the “Hallway Series.”