The Los Angeles Lakers zoomed past the Portland Trail Blazers with a 111-88 victory on Thursday in Game 2 of their first-round series in the Western Conference playoffs. Anthony Davis netted 31 points and snatched 11 rebounds to help secure a Lakers victory.
Lakers star LeBron James managed to score only an uncharacteristic 10 points and seven assists in 27 minutes. Los Angeles bounced back from a 100-93 loss to Portland in Game 1. This was also Lakers' first win in the playoffs since Game 3 of the 2012 Western Conference semifinals against Oklahoma.
Lillard's Lowest-score Since Restart
Unlike Tuesday, when the Lakers trailed by 11 after one quarter, they led by as many as nine points in the opening 12 minutes Thursday and were up by as many as 17 in the first half. The advantage reached 32 late in the third quarter as the Lakers jumped on top 88-56. Blazers guard Damian Lillard was held to 18 points while CJ McCollum added 13. Portland was limited to 40 percent shooting from the field and 27.6 percent (8 of 29) from 3-point range.
Lillard, who left the game with a dislocated left index finger late in the third quarter, had his lowest-scoring game since the NBA's restart late last month. He scored at least 34 points in each of his previous five games, including a 61-point effort on Aug. 11 against the Dallas Mavericks.
Portland Forced into 17 Turnovers
Davis took charge early in Game 2, scoring 21 points by halftime and reaching 31 through three quarters. He did not play in the fourth. Davis was 13 of 21 from the field and 3 of 4 from 3-point range. In Game 1, he had 28 points on 8-of-24 shooting and missed all five of his 3-point attempts.
The victory came as James took more of a background role one game after he amassed 23 points, 17 rebounds and 16 assists. The 10 points Thursday marked his lowest-scoring playoff game since he had seven points for the Miami Heat in Game 5 of the 2014 Eastern Conference Finals against the Indiana Pacers.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 16 for the Lakers while JR Smith had 11 and JaVale McGee added 10. Los Angeles shot 47.8 percent from the field and 36.8 percent (14 of 38) from 3-point range. The Lakers had a 50-41 rebounding advantage and forced Portland into 17 turnovers.
(With inputs from agencies)
