Portland fans who came to the Moda Center expected a big showdown, given that the Portland Trail Blazers faced a short-handed Los Angeles Lakers team missing Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, leaving LeBron James. Portland fans were handed a surprising loss, but the Lakers expected Jake LaRavia to shine again. Well, Deandre Ayton came out of the syllabus to become the main story of the night, whereas Bronny James kept building his highlight reel with confident plays that wowed the crowd.
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Despite missing key players, the Lakers showed fight and teamwork, refusing to back down. In the end, they stunned Portland with a hard-fought 123-115 win, snapping the Blazers’ winning streak and proving that effort can outshine expectations.
How many points did Bronny James score?
Los Angeles Lakers
| PLAYER | MIN | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | +/- |
| STARTERS | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Rui Hachimura#28 | 38 | 28 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | +10 |
| Jake LaRavia#12 | 36 | 11 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3 | +14 |
| Dalton Knecht#4 | 23 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | -10 |
| Deandre Ayton#5 | 31 | 29 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 5 | +8 |
| Marcus Smart#36 | 32 | 9 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 5 | +10 |
| BENCH | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Jarred Vanderbilt#2 | 21 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | +1 |
| Jaxson Hayes#11 | 13 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -2 |
| Nick Smith Jr.#20 | 27 | 25 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | +9 |
| Bronny James#9 | 19 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Maxi Kleber#14 | DNP | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Christian Koloko#10 | DNP | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Chris Manon#30 | DNP | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| TEAM TOTALS | – | 123 | 34 | 29 | 11 | 5 | 17 | 22 | – |
Portland Trail Blazers
| PLAYER | MIN | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | +/- |
| STARTERS | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Toumani Camara#33 | 34 | 14 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 3 | -1 |
| Deni Avdija#8 | 36 | 33 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 2 | -2 |
| Donovan Clingan#23 | 18 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -7 |
| Jrue Holiday#5 | 36 | 8 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | -9 |
| Shaedon Sharpe#17 | 28 | 23 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | -1 |
| BENCH | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Jerami Grant#9 | 31 | 18 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 | -6 |
| Kris Murray#24 | 23 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | -5 |
| Robert Williams III#35 | 15 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -4 |
| Caleb Love#2 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +2 |
| Sidy Cissoko#91 | 14 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -7 |
| Duop Reath#26 | DNP | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Yang Hansen#16 | DNP | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Damian Lillard#0 | DNP | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Scoot Henderson#00 | DNP | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Rayan Rupert#21 | DNP | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| TEAM TOTALS | – | 115 | 38 | 24 | 13 | 3 | 18 | 18 | – |
Lakers vs Trail Blazers: game summary and key moments
It was a revenge game for the Lakers after their 108-122 loss in the opening week. Both teams entered on winning streaks, but one had to fall. With Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, LeBron James, and Gabe Vincent all out, Blazers fans celebrated too soon. Instead, the Lakers’ role players flipped the script.
Bronny James vs Trail Blazers : 19 minutes 5 PTS 6 AST 1 3PT 1 REB 1 STL That 3rd quarter stint he had hustling on both ends of the floor I felt like changed the game completely for the Lakers, they took back the lead and never looked back. The little things Bronny does on the Show more
Deandre Ayton was the hero of the night against his former team, proving why JJ Redick has faith in the one player most discounted. After an abysmal stat and early game exit on Friday against the Grizzlies, as well as sitting out last night’s game against Miami due to back spasms, he showed up with 29 points and 10 rebounds across 30 minutes.
We were missing the trio Jake LaRavia made with Doncic and Reaves, but tonight he continued a productive streak with 11 points. Bronny James, too, is ending his scoreless streak. After two points and catching a spectacular alley-oop from Reaves last night, 5 points, 1 rebound, 6 assists, and one steal while shooting 1/4 from the field in 19 minutes of playing time. Two-way player Nick Smith Jr. stunned off the bench with an astounding 25 points.
For the Blazers, this was a big downer (that too while dealing with the Chauncey Billups drama). Falling to the B-team of the Lakers, which got worse after Jaxson Hayes twisted his ankle, can’t be pleasant. The first half was sloppy on both ends. Both teams combined for 21 turnovers. But the Blazers had a brief lead before halftime. Deni Avdija finished with 33 points and six rebounds was the top performer of the night, but couldn’t help once the lead got away.
The Blazers had no answer to Deandre Ayton, the guy whose ‘tantrums’ were reportedly the reason behind the offseason split. Along with Marcus Smart, they closed the 13-point deficit to win with a significant lead.
The Lakers face Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs on Wednesday with a possibly well-rested Doncic and Reaves. The Blazers have to fight for redemption against the reigning champs, OKC, on the same day.