Deni Avdija and the Portland Trail Blazers continued their promising start to the season on Wednesday morning, defeating the Lakers 136-129 in Los Angeles to push their record to 3-0. Avdija delivered a standout performance with 23 points, 9 assists, and 4 rebounds, serving as Portland's cornerstone in the fourth quarter, where the visitors outscored Los Angeles 34-26 to complete the comeback. The Lakers suffered their first defeat of the campaign despite Luka Doncic's 41-point masterpiece.
Avdija and Lillard take over in the fourth
While the Lakers led for the majority of the contest, they stumbled with frequent misses early in the fourth quarter. The visitors capitalized on the opening to mount a decisive run, punctuated by an Avdija three-pointer that stretched the lead to 114-106 with 8:31 remaining - marking the Blazers' largest cushion of the game following a 9-1 surge. The Lakers fought back aggressively, but Avdija kept his foot on the gas: He set up Williams for a 116-112 lead, tipped in a crucial rebound to make it 118-116, found Lillard to nudge Portland ahead 124-121, and drained another three-pointer to push the score to 128-124 with 2:59 left on the clock.
Luka cut the deficit to 132-129 with a brilliant basket, but Avdija snatched the ball, drove into the lane, and kicked it out to Damian Lillard, who buried a clutch three-pointer with 42 seconds remaining to give the Blazers a 135-129 advantage. The Israeli star then survived a close call after briefly touching the rim on a Lakers shot attempt (a goaltending scare) before missing two consecutive free throws with 26 seconds left that could have put the game out of reach. Fortunately for him, the Lakers turned the ball over immediately on the following possession, allowing the visitors to celebrate an impressive, high-profile victory.
Avdija finished the night shooting 8-of-15 from the field, 4-of-7 from beyond the arc, and a modest 3-of-7 from the free-throw line, alongside 9 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 turnovers, and a steal. After being hampered by foul trouble in the first half, he showed great discipline in the second, emerging fresh and confident for crunch time - where he dictated the tempo, ran the offense, and set up his teammates effectively.
Strong team effort fuels Portland's comeback
Ja Morant also turned in an encouraging performance with 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting, including several critical drives down the stretch. Damian Lillard contributed 21 points, highlighted by his game-sealing clutch three-pointer, while Jrue Holiday was equally stellar with 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting and a dominant fourth-quarter display. Robert Williams added 14 points and 10 rebounds, rounding out a well-balanced and promising stat line for Portland in this marquee matchup.
The Blazers shot an impressive 18-of-36 from beyond the arc in a contest where they once trailed by as many as 11 points. Their lethal efficiency from deep compensated for a frustrating performance at the charity stripe, where they converted just 26-of-41 attempts (63%).
Doncic shines but Lakers fall short
On the opposing side, Luka Doncic stood head and shoulders above his teammates with 41 points (12-of-22 from the field, 6-of-15 from three) and 9 assists. However, the Slovenian superstar faltered down the stretch, unable to rescue a Lakers team that looked somewhat disjointed late in the game. Austin Reaves chipped in 26 points, going 4-of-8 from three-point territory.
Doncic knocked down six three-pointers on the night, topping off another explosive offensive outing following a 52-point outburst against Utah last weekend - marking the tenth time he has broken the 50-point barrier in under two years in a Lakers uniform. He was also noticeably engaged on the defensive end, but Portland’s balanced scoring output and execution in the final minutes proved too much for Los Angeles to overcome.
Doncic dropped 16 points in the opening quarter alone, but Portland remained exceptionally efficient, missing only ten shots in the entire first half. In opening the season with three consecutive victories for only the second time in the last 15 years, Portland maintained its undefeated start under new head coach Micah Nori.