Final Score: LAL 116 POR 108 - Lakers lead 2-1
Now, that's how you take back "home court!" The Lakers overcome an ugly first half and some horrendous free throw shooting and dominate in the 2nd half to beat the Blazers 116-108 in Game 3. Lakers take the series lead at 2-1 and regain home court advantage.
We always hear the old saying in sports: "it's not about how you start, but how you finish." I'll just jump right into the negative. The free throw shooting was atrocious tonight. 28/43 from the line. Anthony Davis accounted for most of that. He has been terrific from the line all season long, making 88% of his free throws. Tonight, he was 50% from the line. AD was off to a really slow start, but luckily it wasn't that long till he got going in the 2nd half. Lakers were able to get the win despite this. At the same time, they left a lot of points out there on the table.
Now, we get to the highlights of this game. LeBron James hasn't been great in the bubble, but tonight he showed that he's still one of the best players in the world. 38 points, 12 rebounds, 8 assists, 11-18 shooting, the King took over early on in this game to get the Lakers going. The offensive flow was a little discombobulated in the first half. When LeBron got into attack mode, that's when the offense started to find its spark. The Blazers' defense had no answer. And just when they think they do, he finds a cutting Alex Caruso, Kyle Kuzma, or Dwight Howard and AD roaming in the paint, expecting a lob.
As I mentioned before, it didn't take long for AD to shake off his slow start. Coach Terry Stotts decided to deploy a two-big lineup with Hassan Whiteside and Jusuf Nurkic to slow down the 'Brow. But on the other end, the Blazers' defense was having trouble to stop LeBron. AD took advantage and went off in the 3rd quarter. On top of the key, he was automatic. Despite some horrendous free throw shooting, AD's stat line mad up for it with 29 points, 11 rebounds, 8 assists and 11-18 shooting. As I mentioned before, when you get a dominant, balanced performance from LBJ and AD, the Lakers are hard to beat.
The bench once again outperformed the Blazers' bench. I mentioned this so many times, this is a given advantage for the Lakers. Alex Caruso lead the unit with 10 points and 7 assists. He's been consistent on defense doing a great job harassing Damian Lillard. The scoring and facilitating was a great sign of encouragement since he's been dormant on that end. Kyle Kuzma chipped in 7 points, Dwight Howard grabbed 10 boards.
Speaking of defense, it was masterful in the 4th quarter. Portland shot 6/21 during that quarter. They didn't hit a 3-pointer. Dame still went off besides the injury to his index finger on his non-shooting hand with 34 points. But, Dame Time didn't make it in time down the stretch. The last one minute of the fourth quarter was an incredible sequence of defense with Danny Green and AD throwing block parties late. It's a testament on how the Lakers' defense came up big tonight, especially down the stretch of the game.
Ah, if only this game was in the Moda Center with the Blazers fans filing for the exit after this game. Games 2 and 3 were terrific turnarounds for the purple and gold. We keep criticizing the starting lineup that Frank Vogel has on the floor. But, if it ain't broke don't fix it. And, this lineup works at the moment. Other side notes, Rajon Rondo was active tonight, but then immediately was inactive after some back spasms at shootaround. Honestly, as much as Rondo is valuable to the 2nd unit, it's best to keep him of the rotation at this point while Vogel's current rotation is getting the Lakers wins. Despite the win, this series is far from over and the Lakers have to continue to step on the gas. Next game is on 8/24 aka "Kobe Bryant Day." To honor the late, great Kobe, the Lakers must instill some of that Mamba Mentality and rip Portland's heart out to take a commanding 3-1 lead during that day. I'll see you guys later.
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