The offensive woes from the seeding games carried over into Tuesday night’s Game 1 for the Los Angeles Lakers and if they are going to beat the Blazers, they will need to improve their offense and find some way to score the basketball outside of LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Damian Lillard had a game-high 34 points and CJ McCollum had 21 points as the Blazers knocked off the Lakers, 100-93. LeBron James had a triple-double of 23 points, 17 rebounds, and 16 assists (a playoff career-high), but the Lakers were an atrocious 5 of 32 from the 3-point line in the loss. Portland didn’t shoot the ball well from the field either, but they shot it at a higher rate from the 3-point line, going 13 for 34 from the 3-point line. L.A.’s 93 points were the lowest total the Blazers have given up in the bubble. Portland’s 100 points were also the lowest total they’ve scored in a win this season.
Anthony Davis had a brutal night from the field, shooting 8 of 24, but it was a night in which nobody truly shot the ball well. Kyle Kuzma had 14 points off the bench, but starting guards Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Danny Green went a combined 4 for 21 from the field and 2 for 13 from the 3-point line.
