The Lakers were routed by the Portland Trail Blazers, 132-116, on Saturday night.
Without Luka Dončić, Austin Reaves, Deandre Ayton and Jaxson Hayes, the Lakers were forced to go deep into their bench.
While there were some standout offensive performances, the Lakers ultimately could muster little resistance defensively.
It was a Maxi Kleber takeover from the start as he scored nine of the first 14 points. With Deandre Ayton and Jaxson Hayes out, Kleber was the lone center available, and he took advantage of the opportunity.
Marcus Smart was the other Laker scoring well with five points. LeBron James and Jake LaRavia combined for four assists. Portland had taken a lead by four, but Drew Timme subbed in and scored five quick points to put LA up by one.
The Blazers then took control of the game. Los Angeles sent Portland to the line 22 times in the period. LA’s offense became stagnant, unable to put together any consistent scoring.
LeBron’s first bucket of the game came at the 28-second mark. It was the only Lakers basket in a 12-2 Blazers run to end the first and take a 13-point lead into the second.
Gabe Vincent opened the second period with a much-needed 3-pointer. Donovan Clingan answered with a triple of his own. Timme continued his impressive offensive showing with five more points, making him the first Laker in double figures with 12.
Los Angeles had made it a six-point game after a surge in scoring thanks to LeBron and Smart, but Portland immediately responded with Jerami Grant scoring five straight. LA had no answer for Caleb Love, who had 11 points and was three for four from behind the arc.
Grant and Love combined for 26 points off the bench for the Trail Blazers. At halftime, the Lakers were down by 10.
Smart opened the second half with two 3-pointers. Despite those shots, Los Angeles was still down by double digits as the Blazers continued to score at ease, shooting 55% from the field. Smart was the only Laker who looked good in the quarter, pushing his total to 23 points.
The defensive breakdowns were hurting Los Angeles as they continued to have no answers for Portland’s sharpshooters. The Lakers were down by 19 with 5:33 left in the third period.
Rui Hachimura knocked down a badly needed 3-pointer. He also knocked down a pair of midrange jumpers. LA put together a small 8-2 scoring run as the quarter was winding down to help trim the deficit down to 12 before everything went bad all over again and Portland opened up a 17-point lead going into the fourth period.
Despite starting the final frame with some spirited attempts at a comeback, LA did not have enough juice in the tank to stop the blazing hot Trail Blazers.
Key Player Stats
LeBron ended with 20 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. Smart ended with 25 points and two rebounds. Timme had a strong showing with 21 points, two rebounds and three assists. Kleber had his best game as a Laker with 11 points and five rebounds. Hachimura notched 11 points with two steals.
The Lakers’ next matchup will be against the Toronto Raptors on Sunday at 6:30 PM PT.
You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.
