NBA regular season, the Lakers defeated the Blazers 114-106. The Lakers trailed in the first quarter, but they turned the tide in the second quarter. However, there was a power outage in the fourth quarter when they had a big lead, fortunately, James returned to the court and managed to stabilize the score, eventually securing the victory.
Three players had excellent performances throughout the game. James is crucial for the Lakers, as evidenced by the consecutive points they lost during his rest period in the fourth quarter, proving him to be the team's absolute pillar. James scored 38 points and provided 8 assists, displaying an aggressive performance. Rivers also played well, although his shooting percentage was a bit low, his penetration and distribution have become an indispensable part of the team. Moreover, each of his passes greatly motivated his teammates, and he impressed everyone in this game.
Christie remained a focal point. Especially in the fourth quarter, he was able to capitalize on James and Rivers' passes, and Christie could also dribble and create damage, which allowed him to score 28 points in the entire game, becoming a key factor in securing the victory for the team in the decisive period.
Hayes, Koloko, Smith, Reddish, and Milton all had passable performances. Hayes and Koloko held their ground under the basket. Since Davis did not play in this game, they combined to grab 14 rebounds and performed well defensively. At the same time, Smith's control of the defense was excellent, consistently maintaining perfect help defense, making him the most critical point in the Lakers' defense. Milton was an unexpected gain; although his three-point shooting percentage was not great, he could handle the ball, defend well, and rotate. Reddish's focus was still on defense; even though he missed shots on offense, he could stabilize the rotation with his defense.
Hachimura and Knickert both had disastrous performances. Hachimura continued to disappoint in this game, lacking rebounds, missing three-pointers, and being easily passed on defense, yet he remained on the court. Knickert became obsessed with three-pointers again; once he missed them, his defense was easily bypassed, and these two players were too painful to watch.