One other spectacular comeback win for L.A.
After an improbable comeback win over the Memphis Grizzlies, who had been the most popular workforce within the NBA, the Los Angeles Lakers regarded to construct some momentum on Sunday after they visited the Portland Path Blazers.
Issues regarded good early for them, as they burst out to an 18-4 lead – solely to endure a really embarrassing second quarter through which they obtained outscored 45-13 to fall behind 71-46 on the half. Turnovers have been a giant downside for the Lakers within the first half, as they gave the ball away 11 occasions.
However they fought again furiously within the third quarter, and similar to that, Portland noticed its lead dissolve earlier than its personal eyes. Los Angeles lastly regained the lead with 7:54 left within the fourth quarter, and it cruised from there to a 121-112 victory. It did so by holding Portland to a really low taking pictures share and simply 41 factors within the second half.
The victory allowed the Lakers to leapfrog the Blazers within the standings to maneuver into twelfth place within the Western Convention. They’re now only one sport behind the Golden State Warriors for the tenth spot.
LeBron James: A
After two subpar video games, James returned to kind on Sunday. He shot 14-of-24 to attain 37 factors whereas additionally grabbing 11 rebounds, dishing off 4 assists and blocking two photographs.
He didn’t look as fatigued within the fourth quarter as he has regarded within the Lakers’ final couple of video games, however he nonetheless performed 36 minutes, which is an excessive amount of for him. Nonetheless, he made sufficient performs down the stretch to place his workforce excessive.
Troy Brown Jr.: B+
Brown had 10 factors, two rebounds, two assists and two steals in 32 minutes. He went 2-of-5 from 3-point vary, and he hit a triple with lower than a minute left to seal the win.
Thomas Bryant: A+
After a number of straight anemic video games, Bryant was dominant tonight. He had 31 factors, which tied a career-high for him, on 12-of-15 taking pictures from the sphere. His 3-point shot, which has disappeared recently, returned as he hit 4-of-5 from that distance.
The large man additionally had 14 rebounds and two blocks in 33 minutes. His aggression was evident when he had two large offensive rebounds and dunks late within the fourth quarter to punctuate the Lakers’ comeback.
Patrick Beverley: B+/A-
Beverley’s stat line (4 factors, two rebounds, two assists, two steals and one block in 29 minutes) doesn’t inform the story of how he put his fingerprints on this sport. He was speaking trash to Damian Lillard for a lot of the sport, and he backed it up by enjoying excellent full-court protection on Lillard, particularly within the second half.
In consequence, the Blazers’ franchise participant had a horrible outing, going 5-of-17. Lillard often appears to have large video games in opposition to the Lakers, however tonight was a a lot completely different story.
Dennis Schroder: A
Like Bryant, Schroder hasn’t been enjoying effectively recently, however he bounced again large time on Sunday. Coming off his clutch steal and layup to win Friday’s contest, Schroder had an environment friendly 24 factors, making all 10 of his free throws and going 2-of-5 from downtown, together with six rebounds and eight assists whereas committing only one turnover.
The Lakers, basically, did a fantastic job of defending the ball within the second half, committing only one turnover throughout that span after being horrendous in that class earlier than halftime.
Wenyen Gabriel: C-
Gabriel was nearly a non-factor in opposition to Portland, scoring 4 factors and failing to seize a rebound whereas committing three turnovers in 12 minutes.
Russell Westbrook: D
Westbrook’s string of robust video games ended tonight. He shot simply 3-of-13 general and 0-of-4 from past the arc, scoring simply six factors. Alternatively, Westbrook did seize eight rebounds and dish off 5 assists to assist L.A.’s trigger.
Kendrick Nunn: C+/B-
In 16 minutes, Nunn shot 2-of-5 and scored 5 factors, however he contributed in an space he often doesn’t by getting six rebounds.
These days, the Lakers have struggled on the boards, however on Sunday, they outrebounded Portland 51-38, thanks partly to Nunn’s effort in that division.
Max Christie, Juan Toscano-Anderson: Incomplete
Christie obtained 16 minutes of enjoying time whereas Toscano-Anderson was within the sport for simply 4 minutes. The rookie obtained two rebounds and had a formidable blocked shot on Josh Hart. Each gamers went scoreless.