After a back-and-forth 1st quarter that saw them go down by as many as 11 points, the Lakers steadied themselves to take control of the game and cruise to a 128-109 victory over the shorthanded Trail Blazers on Wednesday night.
The Lakers struggled to find a rhythm early in this game, trailing 17-6 halfway through the 1st quarter to a Blazers team missing several key rotation players, including starters Damian Lillard and Josh Hart. They quickly got on track after that, however, running off 11 straight to tie the game and ultimately taking the lead 24-22 heading into the 2nd period.
And it was in that 2nd quarter, that the Lakers began to establish more of the offensive rhythm that would carry them the rest of the game -- with LeBron James leading the way.
Of LeBron's game high 31 points (12-18 shooting overall, 6-8 from behind the arc), 15 of them came in the 2nd quarter while making six of his seven shots from the field overall and three for four shooting from behind the arc. LeBron was simply dominant in the quarter, scoring well from all over the floor -- including a monster dunk off a nice give-and-go with Thomas Bryant -- while also bringing a strong effort defensively when switching his matchup to defend Jerami Grant.
Bron would finish the night with a team high eight assists as well, picking out teammates for easy baskets inside as well as open jumpers. Of all his assists, two of his more impressive ones came after he drove to the paint to collapse the defense and expertly picked out Reaves with no-look passes for open three point shots that Reaves buried.
And speaking of Austin, his 22 points were crucial to this win, particularly since eight of them came in the 1st quarter when the Lakers were desperate for scoring to fight back from that aforementioned deficit. Reaves didn't just knock down the long-ball either, he was excellent at working his way into the paint, scoring well down low but also drawing fouls to earn trips to the free throw line. Reaves also finished with five rebounds and three assists, showing off his complete floor game.
Anthony Davis also had another wonderful night, again making eye popping stat-lines seem somewhat routine. Scoring well inside and out, earning trips to the foul line (and knocking down his free throws), and holding down the paint defensively, Davis finished the night with 27 points on 9-17 shooting to go along with a dozen rebounds and three blocked shots. Davis was especially great down the stretch, helping to stave off any attempts at a late-game rally from Portland, scoring 14 points in the final frame to close them out to get the win.
While LeBron, AD, and Reaves had wonderful nights, this really was a great team win all around. Thomas Bryant contributed 14 points and six rebounds in 19 minutes of action. Patrick Beverley returned from suspension to play well defensively, while knocking down a couple of shots and helping on the backboards. Max Christie had a rough night shooting the ball (1-5 from the field), but played excellent defense and helped hold Anfernee Simons to 22 points on 9-22 shooting from the field.
And then there was Russell Westbrook, whose energy and enthusiasm gave his team a real spark all night and, in many ways, defied his boxscore numbers. Russ may have only made 4 of his 14 shots from the field, and his 10 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists fall below his normal output, but he hit two buzzer-beating shots -- one each to close the 2nd and 3rd quarters -- and his willingness to push the pace to generate transition opportunities gave his teammates life and really helped establish a spirit that the team rode to pull away in the 2nd half.
All in all, particularly after how the Pacers game ended just two nights earlier, this was a very good bounce back win for the Lakers. They battled back from an early deficit and then fended off the Blazers final pushes in the 4th quarter to win going away.
They'll look to carry this momentum forward when they begin their six-game road trip in Milwaukee on Friday.