Final: POR 88 LAL 111 - Tied 1-1
Alright, time to talk about this game! The Lakers respond with their backs against the wall early on in this first round matchup. And they do it in a big way, dominating and demoralizing the Blazers in an 88-111 victory to tie the series up and one game a piece.
It's been awhile since I covered a Lakers playoff win. I said in the last recap, the Lakers must treat this game as a "must-win" even if it's early on in the series. This Portland team is a dangerous squad for a first round opponent. Tonight, we saw a well-rounded win. The Lakers turned up the defensive intensity. They were more aggressive offensively. Role players stepped it up. This is just a great way to respond after giving the first game away and to snap a 7-game losing streak in the playoffs for the Purple and Gold.
Anthony Davis is the unanimous MVP for this game. He lead the Lakers with 31 points and 11 rebounds, first player to score 30+ pts and grab 10 rebs in playing under 30 minutes since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Last game, despite the 28-point effort in the loss, AD was inconsistent in the field goal percentage, shooting 8-24 from the field. Tonight, he shot an efficient 13-21. For the most part, AD did work inside the paint with 16 points in the paint at the first half. In the 3rd quarter, his 3-point game got going and helped balloon the Lakers lead to 30 points, which was the largest in this game.
Second takeaway from this game, the role players stepped it up. Javale McGee got some great looks inside courtesy of the ball movement and court vision from LeBron James. He finished with 10 points and 8 rebounds. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope showed up to play tonight with 16 points, including four 3-pointers. Honestly, it's a love-hate relationship with KCP because he's so streaky. But after dropping a "triple-single" last game, he stepped up as the third option outside of LeBron and AD. LeBron only had 10 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists, but he drew a lot of attention to set up teammates nicely for high percentage shots. He was also active defensively with 2 steals.
Speaking of steals, Danny Green leads the Lakers in that category with 4 steals. He still shows value as a defender, but his offense still needs to catch on. Defensively, they put the clamps on Portland's star backcourt tandem. Dame Time was held in check to 18 points. McCollum struggled with 13 points. Dame exited the game in the 3rd quarter with an injury to his index finger. Even if he returned, it wouldn't have made much of a difference. The Blazers are reliant on their backcourt to drop buckets. Tonight was an example of how ineffective the Blazers' offense can get when Dame and CJ are not on their A-game.
Overall, this was a fantastic bounceback win from the Lakers. It's been a theme dating back to the season prior to the suspension, the Lakers are much better when Anthony Davis dominates. LeBron had pedestrian numbers, but he didn't have to be great either, especially when the role players step their game up. Now granted, I still don't like the starting lineup. I still don't like the fact that Dion Waiters is still playing minimal minutes even though he's the Lakers' leading scorer and facilitator off the bench. But, it is what it is. On a side note, it was nice to see J.R. Smith in the rotation and put up buckets, finishing with 11 points. I am thoroughly impressed with this win. It's just a matter if the Lakers can maintain this kind of consistency, especially from the role players as the series shift to Game 3. Lucky for them, they're not playing in front of a rocking Moda Center in Portland. Injuries aside, AD did sustain some minor back and ankle problems this game, but he seemed fine the rest of the way. Damian Lillard's injury to his index figure is something to look out for, which could be a huge break for the Lakers and a tough one for the Blazers. Game 3 is up next on Saturday! I'll see you guys later.
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