PORTLAND, Ore. _As he took the ball and eyed his path, so did the anticipation in the arena. Fans gasped at the sight of LeBron James dribbling the ball close to mid-court, of nobody between him and the basket. Once he made up his mind to take off full speed, there was no doubting how that sequence would end.
Moments later, James rose in the air and slammed the ball through the net, making the whole apparatus shake, and unleashed a howl. Even in this most hostile arena, where the fans chanted "Beat L.A." and booed James with the force of a rivalry that's been one-sided the past several years, the crowd erupted.
This was LeBron James' first official score as a Los Angeles Laker.
With a thundering slam dunk, a new era began.
In that new era, though, some things remained familiar. The Portland Trail Blazers defeated the Lakers 128-119, extending their winning streak over the Lakers to 16 games. This was also the 18th consecutive home opener Portland has won, which is the longest streak in NBA history.
James finished with 26 points, 12 rebounds, six assists and six turnovers. Josh Hart added 20 points for the Lakers. Damian Lillard scored 28 points for Portland, and Nik Stauskas added 24 off the bench on an efficient night in which he made seven of 11 shots.
Before the Lakers left Los Angeles for Portland on Wednesday, coach Luke Walton stopped by co-owner Jeanie Buss' office to check in with her. He shared with her that to him it felt like hardly any time had passed since July 1 when the Lakers first got a commitment from James. There was still so much more work he knew he and James had to do.
To Buss, the months had seemed to pass slowly. Since the moment James chose the Lakers, she couldn't wait to see him play for her team.
She wasn't alone in feeling that.
Among the red-clad Portland fans filling the Moda Center were a smattering of Lakers fans _ many of them dressed in James' jersey.
As they found their seats, James sat at his locker before the game, wearing headphones and readying himself. In the empty locker beside him, three wicks on a candle labeled "mahogany teakwood high intensity" burned. James bobbed his head sometimes, and occasionally rapped aloud with a song playing through his headphones.
He wore a shirt with his own image on it, and the words, "It's only a crazy dream until you do it."
To play for the Lakers was once among James' crazy dreams. As a fan of basketball, this franchise captured his imagination and he relished the opportunity to join its illustrious alumni. In the days leading up to his first real game as a Laker, though, James didn't betray any extra excitement beyond that of simply starting the season, finally.
Walton played coy in the hours before the game about who his starters would be, but ultimately it was the same group that started most of the preseason _ James and Brandon Ingram at forward, JaVale McGee at center, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope at shooting guard and Rajon Rondo at point guard.
James offered theatrics right away. With the Lakers up 6-2 after scores by Rondo, McGee and Ingram, James stole the ball from Portland forward Jake Layman and dunked it at the other end of the court.
Perhaps energized by the sight of James' theatrics in his home arena, Lillard countered with with a high-flying dunk down the middle of the paint. James answered immediately, scoring again with a powerful dunk for his second score as a Laker.
The Lakers missed their first 15 three-point attempts, but stayed close on the strength of their transition game. They scored 17 fastbreak points in the first half alone and were able to take advantage of a quick pace.
Stauskas gave the Trail Blazers an edge early, and ultimately their star guards carried them to their first win against LeBron James' Lakers. After the game, both C.J. McCollum and Lillard hugged James for a little longer than their teammates did. They'll be seeing a lot more of each other now.
