LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – After sinking a deep 3-pointer halfway through the final quarter, Damian Lillard did a little dancing and teammate Jusuf Nurkic pointed to his wrist.
This was Dame Time, playoff edition.
“Every game since we’ve been here has been a playoff game. That prepared us for a game like this,” Lillard said. “It’s just one win. I’m glad I’ll be in the playoffs here again, but we have to move on to the next one.”
Lillard had 34 points and the Portland Trail Blazers eliminated LeBron James ‘first playoff appearance for the Los Angeles Lakers with a 100-93 victory on Tuesday night in Game 1 of the teams’ playoff series.
James had 23 points, 17 rebounds and 16 assists, becoming the first player to have as many points, rebounds and assists in the playoffs. It was his 24th postseason triple-double and his assists were a playoff high in his career.
“We had a few burglaries that you can’t have in the stretch, especially against a team like Portland,” James said.
Jusuf Nurkic had 16 points and 15 rebounds for Portland, leading by as many as 16 points in the first half. The Lakers, making their first playoff appearance since 2013, limited the advantage at halftime to 57-56 and remained close the rest of the way.
The Lakers hit 78-75 in the final period, tying it at 78 on Kyle Kuzma’s 3-pointer. James’ lineup gave Los Angeles the lead, and Kuzma added a few free throws and another lineup to extend it to 84-78.
Lillard’s 3-pointer tied it up again at 87 with 5:46 to go and CJ McCollum’s float gave Portland the lead. Lillard then said he danced to his 3 because the song Blow the Whistle was played in the bubble arena, which Lillard called the “East Oakland national anthem”.
After Danny Green’s lineup tied it up again for Los Angeles, Lillard played another 3-pointer. Anthony Davis’ dunk got the Lakers inside 95-93, but Gary Trent Jr. made a 3-pointer that put Portland 98-93 before Nurkic dunked to seal it.
Anthony Davis had 28 points and 11 rebounds for the Lakers.
Portland won its first play-in postseason NBA game since 1956, beating Memphis 126-122 on Saturday to make the playoffs for the seventh consecutive season. The Blazers were among three teams with losing overall records to make the bubble playoffs. No team under .500 has advanced to the postseason since 2015.
The Blazers were without forward Zach Collins due to inflammation in his left ankle. Wenyen Gabriel started in his place.
Portland led 33-17 in the first half after Nurkic’s dunk. The Lakers came within 40-38, but could not pull forward until Davis ‘dunk off of James’ just made it 50-49, with just over three minutes left in the half. But it was short life.
The game was delayed for a while in the first half when the Lakers’ rim tilted and had to be adjusted.
TIP INS
Trail Blazers: Lillard had 48 points in Portland’s 127-119 victory over the Lakers in Los Angeles on Jan. 31. So obviously the Lakers went to try to stop the bubble MVP. But that is no different than any other game, Stotts said. “There’s not much he has not seen or that we have not seen,” Stotts said. … Portland is also without Rodney Hood, who is continuing with rehab from an Achilles injury, and Trevor Ariza, who chose not to play in Florida.
Lakers: Rajon Rando is in the bubble and has returned to limited practice in the playoffs after suffering a fractured left thumb. Coach Frank Vogel said Rondo is “close, but we will continue to evaluate it through the day.”
HISTORY: The teams have met six times in a first-round series, with the Lakers winning five. It is the 12th time the teams have met in the playoffs.
RED HAT: James wore a familiar red hat, but instead of President Trump’s slogan, the line “Great Again” was crossed and a line was added that read the hat: Make America Arrest the Cops Who Killed Breonna Taylor. “
FOLLOWING
The series continues with Game 2 on Thursday.
—
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP-Sports
