They are the top-scoring teams in the NBA and have dynamic backcourts to make it all work.
So, when the Lakers came to work with their superb guard duo of Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves and the Portland Trail Blazers came to work with their exciting guard combo of Damian Lillard and Ja Morant, it figured to be a high-scoring affair Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena.
It lived up to that billing, with the game going back and forth in the decisive fourth quarter, finally being settled after Lillard hit a big-time three-pointer off a pass from Deni Avdija for a six-point lead with 42.8 seconds left that the Lakers couldn’t overcome in a 136-129 loss.
The Trail Blazers tore into the Lakers defense, shooting 59% from the field, 50% (18-for-36) from three-point range.
When the game reached its zenith in the fourth quarter, the Trail Blazers tore into the Lakers defense some more, shooting 57.1% from the field and a sizzling 70% from three-point range, going seven-for-10.
“It was also an incredible shot-making game,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “Let’s also factor that in.”
Lillard had 10 of his 21 points in the fourth. He was three-for-four from three-point range in the fourth, including the three that sealed the game.
“[Lillard], of course, we know can shoot the crap out of the ball,” Redick said.
Lillard also had lots of help. Morant, who was nine-for-13 from the field, had 23 points, Avdija, who was eight-for-15 from the field and four-for-seven from three-point range, had 23 points and nine assists and Jrue Holiday, who was eight-for-12 from the field, had 22 points off the bench for the Trail Blazers.
And then there were the fouls the Lakers committed, leading to 41 free-throw attempts for the Trail Blazers, who entered the game averaging the second-most points in the league at 126 points per game.
“I mean, giving up 41 free throws, you got to defend without fouling,” said Reaves, who had 26 points. “We did enough offensively to win the game. Defensively, we weren’t good.”
Doncic, coming off a 52-point game at Utah on Sunday, had 41 points, nine assists and five rebounds and Walker Kessler, coming off a poor scoring outing with just two points, had 13 points, eight rebounds and two blocks.
So, indeed, offense wasn’t the problem, not for a Lakers team that entered the game averaging a league-best 128 points per game.
The Lakers dropped their first game of the season, falling to 3-1 after getting outscored 34-26 in the fourth quarter.
Another issue for the Lakers — and Trail Blazers, for that matter — were all the technical fouls being called, none of them for unsportsmanlike.
There were four defensive three-second technicals and three flopping technicals.
Ziaire Williams, who was earlier fined by the NBA for flopping, was called for flopping with four minutes and 36 seconds left in the fourth, leading to a technical foul.
“Yeah, like I said, I don’t think I’m flopping,” said Williams, who had 11 points. “If I was flopping, I’d be on the floor. But it is what it is. Nothing I can do about it now.”
Lakers center Walker Kessler gets hit in the head by Portland center Donovan Clingan (23) in the first half.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
The two teams went at it in the first half, with the Lakers taking a 73-68 lead at intermission after a three-pointer at the buzzer by Sandro Mamukelashvili to end the second quarter.
He pumped his chest a few times, drawing cheers from the crowd.
Lakers rookie guard Cameron Carr, who has been out with a right oblique strain, practiced with the Coachella Valley Lakers on Tuesday. Redick said Carr showed progress while at practice with their G-League team.
“We needed him to be able to get through a full practice,” Redick said. “So that’s probably a very important step. Obviously, he was able to do some level of conditioning because it was an upper body injury. But [we] want to make sure he’s able to take hits and able to be in shape.”