LOS ANGELES, United States —
Damian Lillard
scored 41 points and Jeremi Grant drove for a game-winning layup with three
seconds left Sunday as the Portland Trail Blazers dealt the Los Angeles Lakers
their third defeat to open the NBA season.
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Portland erased an eight-point deficit in the final
five minutes and emerged with a 106–104 triumph after Lakers superstar LeBron
James missed at the buzzer.
Russell Westbrook missed two late shots, Lillard
draining three-pointers after each miss. That included Lillard’s step-back jump
shot with 12.4 seconds remaining that put Portland up 104–102.
James responded with a dunk to tie it up, but Grant
powered past James to score against a helpless Anthony Davis in the paint.
Lillard scored 12 of his points in the fourth
quarter and connected on six of 13 three-point attempts.
“One of our biggest strengths in these first three
games has been just sticking with it, showing a lot of resilience and showing
trust in each other even after those breakdowns,” Lillard said.
“We had some miscommunications in every quarter of
the game. I think the last couple of minutes, once again, we were able to
buckle down and show some trust. We were able to get stops and not turn the
ball over.”
The Lakers hit just six three-pointers on 33 attempts
as the shooting struggles that have dogged them early in their first season
under coach Darvin Ham continued.
James finished with 31 points. Davis added 22 with
10 rebounds and six blocked shots.
Westbrook criticism
Westbrook, under scrutiny
after scoring just two points in a Thursday loss to the
Los Angeles Clippers,
finished with 10 points, six rebounds, and six assists.
After the game, James was quick to shut down
questions from reporters he saw as soliciting criticism of Westbrook’s
late-game decision-making, particularly his late failed jump shot attempt with
18 seconds left on the shot clock.
“I’m not up here to do that,” said James, who said
the Lakers got the same shot opportunities late in the game that they had
earlier.
“Just didn’t make them,” James said. “(Westbrook)
got some good looks and wasn’t able to knock them down. Defensively, we
couldn’t get multiple stops in a row. And Dame was Dame down the stretch”.
Reigning NBA champion Golden State defeated winless
Sacramento 130–125, the Warriors sparked to a home triumph by 33 points from
Stephen Curry while Andrew Wiggins and reserve Jordan Poole each added 24.
Cleveland and Utah squeezed out over-time victories,
Cleveland pulling away in the extra session to beat the Washington Wizards 117–107
while the Jazz improved to 3–0 with a 122–121 victory over the Pelicans in New
Orleans.
Kelly Olynyk’s finger roll layup with 3.1 seconds
left in overtime was the game-winner for Utah as the Pelicans’ C.J. McCollum
missed a shot at the buzzer.
Utah’s Jordan Clarkson twice tied it in the waning
seconds of regulation, his three-pointer forcing the extra session with a
110–110 deadlock.
Lauri Markkanen led the Jazz with a double-double of
31 points and 12 rebounds. Olynyk added 20 points, and Clarkson had 18.
McCollum scored 28 points to pace the Pelicans, who
saw forward Brandon Ingram depart late in the first quarter with
concussion-like symptoms after taking an inadvertent blow to the face from
teammate Naji Marshall.
Donovan Mitchell, making his home debut in Cleveland
after arriving in a blockbuster trade from Utah last month, scored seven of his
37 points in overtime for the triumphant Cavs.
Mitchell converted a three-point play and made a key
steal in the final two minutes of overtime.
Anthony Edwards scored a game-high 30 points and
grabbed 11 rebounds while
Rudy Gobert had 15 points and 15 rebounds to spark
Minnesota over host Oklahoma City 116–106.
Devin Booker scored a game-high 35 points to lead Phoenix
over the host Los Angeles Clippers 112–95.
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