The Portland Trail Blazers beat the Los Angeles Lakers 100 – 93 in a seesaw affair. CJ McCollum and Damian Lillard came through late to seal the upset win.
Clutch buckets from Gary Trent Jr and Carmelo Anthony sealed a massive upset in game one, as the Portland Trail Blazers downed the Los Angeles Lakers.
Up 36 – 25 at the end of the first quarter, Jusuf Nurkic had 10 points and 10 rebounds early on. With Zach Collins unavailable due to an ankle injury, Wenyen Gabriel had the start. Though he was in early foul trouble, he was able to help contain LeBron James and Anthony Davis early.
Hassan Whiteside also had crucial minutes as Coach Stotts went to a two-big lineup. Transition defense was a problem as usual though, as LeBron and Davis got going.
LeBron had a triple-double through three quarters as his connection with Davis ratcheted up a level, the Lakers clawing back in the second quarter as the Blazers offense went cold.
Dame was consistent early on even though him and his teammate’s three-point shots weren’t dropping. Nurkic and Lillard were both able to get to the line consistently, as both teams were in the bonus early in multiple quarters.
The Blazers still led at the end of the third as Davis and LeBron took the scoring load on themselves. A quiet game from Gary Trent Jr coincided with a quiet Nurkic second half and the Lakers getting back into the game in the fourth quarter.
Lillard started to heat up in the fourth, though, as the lead went back and forth between both teams. Kyle Kuzma also had a strong second half, as the other Laker role players struggled to impact the game.
A tie game turned into a Blazers three and then six-point lead, as Dame hit a 36-footer which was then followed by a huge Melo three. The Lakers scored twice, but then Trent banged a three of his own with 1:15 on the clock. The Lakers couldn’t answer, Nurkic finishing the game with a dunk.
Blazers win 100 – 93 and will go into game two with massive pressure now on the Lakers.