No Luka Doncic. No Austin Reaves. No problem for the Los Angeles Lakers.
Deandre Ayton stepped up with 29 points – 10 rebounds, and three blocked shots – and Rui Hachimura added 28 points to propel the short-handed LA Lakers to a 123-115 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday night.
Doncic and Reaves both missed the game, both having featured in their 130-120 win against Miami the night before. Nick Smith Jr., on a two-way deal, contributed 25 points, hitting key three-pointers to seal the win late.
Deni Avdija had 33 points for the Blazers, who had their three-game winning streak snapped.
The Lakers, who won their fourth straight game, were down to nine available players.
Doncic, who had 29 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists against the Heat, was unavailable due to lower left leg contusion injury management.
The injury forced him to miss three games earlier this season.
Reaves was ruled out because of right groin soreness after having 26 points and 11 assists against Miami. Ayton, who spent the last two seasons with the Blazers, was a game-time decision with back spasms but started.
The Blazers went up 39-29 in the first half on Jerami Grant's emphatic dunk and led by as many as 13 points, but the Lakers chipped away and closed to 55-52 at the break.
Hachimura's layup pulled the Lakers even at 66-all before Marcus Smart's basket put them in front to cap a 10-1 run midway through the third quarter.
Los Angeles was up 90-86 heading into the fourth quarter but Portland narrowed the gap to 97-96 on Jrue Holiday's layup. But the Lakers held the Blazers off down the stretch, going ahead 107-100 on Ayton's layup.
The Blazers struggled throughout the game from the perimeter, making just nine of 40 3-point attempts.
