King James Came to Play: Lakers vs. Trailblazers Game Three (August 22, 2020)
The Los Angeles Lakers took on the Portland Trailblazers in game three of their first round matchup. The Lakers took game two in convincing fashion and were looking to do the same again, while the Blazers tried to bounce back.
The Blazers started Hassan Whiteside (8 pts, 8 reb) in place of Wenyen Gabriel (0 pts, 1 blk) in this one, presumably to go up against LA’s very tall front court. Whiteside was matched up with JaVale McGee (4 pts, 2 reb), while Jusuf Nurkic (10 pts, 7 reb, 3 ast) was tasked with guarding perennial All-Star Anthony Davis (29 pts, 11 reb, 8 ast, 2 blk, 3 reb).
The Blazers were looking good early on after both teams struggled to get anything to fall for the first couple minutes. Damian Lillard (34 pts, 5 reb, 7 ast) made a couple threes in a row and Frank Vogel wanted a timeout. Davis got to the line twice in the first few minutes, but went 1-5 in those trips. A tough start for the Lakers.
Portland’s backcourt was rolling in the first, with CJ McCollum (28 pts, 8 reb, 4 ast) helping out the Bubble MVP in the scoring column. They combined for the majority of the Blazers first quarter points. Terry Stotts must have emphasized energy and pushing the pace, because that’s exactly what they were looking to do.
The Lakers weren’t far behind, though. LeBron James (38 pts, 12 reb, 8 ast, 2 stl) and Danny Green (8 pts, 4 reb,) were doing a large portion of the scoring for LA in the first, with the front court helping out at times. While James continued this play into the second, Green cooled off as the half went on. Also, they were definitely playing some sloppy basketball at times, which was hurting their chances of closing the gap.
After taking a back seat in the scoring column through the first two games, James was starting to take over in this one. He continued to find his teammates when he could, but he also looked much more aggressive scoring the ball. The Lakers were going to need this version of James to show up eventually, so what better time than the present. Especially because the Lakers found themselves behind after one.
As the second quarter began, McCollum nailed a contested three and I thought to myself, “oh no.” Lillard and McCollum were both cooking early, and when those two get going it is near impossible to stop them. Usually, one is going while the other takes a backseat, but in this one it seemed like they synced up, and boy was McCollum on fire. Not a good sign if you’re a Lakers fan.
However, like I said earlier, James was not going to let the Blazers get a big lead. He was absolutely dominating on the offensive end for the Lakers. He was battling against Gary Trent Jr. (6 pts), who in his defense was playing some decent defense against the King. James was fixated on getting the Lakers a win, even if it was only the second quarter.
The story of the first half? James vs. Lillard and McCollum. What a battle it was shaping up to be. McCollum drilled a corner three at the buzzer, and the Blazers held a 57-53 lead over Lakers going into the second half.
James stayed hot in the second half. He opened the third nailing two three pointers, as did Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (13 pts, 3 reb). They helped LA close the gap and tie the game. The energy had flipped, as the Lakers were now out-hustling the Blazers.
Carmelo Anthony (20 pts, 6 reb, 2 ast, 4 stl, 1 blk) started feeling it in the third quarter. He made a ridiculous three at the start of the quarter, and then a couple very contested mid range shots later on. He was the main scoring option for Portland in the third. On top of that, he was tasked with guarding James, so he was definitely playing with some serious intensity.
Davis started to shine late in the third. He was showing his dominance in the paint and helped the Lakers grow their biggest lead of the game. Portland was going to have to play even harder if they wanted to slow him down.
The Blazers had a chance to catch up once James went to the bench, but Davis came alive at just the right time. Instead, LA ended up going ahead by their largest lead of the game. Lillard wasn’t going to let it get too out of hand, though, as he hit a three near the end of the quarter, cutting the Lakers’ lead down to only seven going into the fourth.
Portland went to Nurkic to open up the fourth, and he gave them a couple huge buckets. He should have had more, but took some questionable shots at the rim. He needs to be much more aggressive in the future, but he did get back on the right track with a strong dunk to cut down the Lakers lead a bit more.
That being said, the Lakers were not going anywhere. Both teams were playing a very physical brand of basketball, and you could tell things were getting chippy. Dwight Howard (8 pts, 4 reb, 2 blk) and Anthony were battling down low on the block and I was ready for things to erupt.
I was holding my breath in anticipation every time either team put a shot up. As a Celtics fan, I was obviously rooting for the Blazers, but as a basketball fan I was just glad to watch a great game. With that in mind, my heart sank every time Davis hit a shot in the fourth. Let’s just say my heart sank a lot. Davis was a flamethrower.
Both teams looked gassed late in the fourth, but the Blazers couldn’t afford to be. LA was slowly building out a lead and Portland couldn’t get anything to go. Terry Stotts desperately needed to light a fire under his guys if they wanted a chance at a comeback.
As the Blazers continued to struggle on offense, the Lakers’ lead grew to 11. With under two minutes left there was such little time left to mount a comeback that some of the Blazers looked defeated. James and Davis continued to attack on offense and were killing the morale of Portland. Then Green went out and blocked two shots in a row making matters even worse.
James nailed a three in the face of the Blazers with just under a minute left and things looked over. Lillard got fouled shooting a three but it was too little too late. Despite a massive effort, there was just nothing left Portland could do. LA’s stars were too much, and Portland’s star back court duo was shut down in the second half.
The Lakers barely managed to get the victory, and took a 2-1 lead on the Blazers with a final score of 116-108. Regardless of the result, this was a great game. Hopefully game four will be just as competitive. Tune in on Monday, August 24th at 9:00 PM EST for that one.
