LOS ANGELES, Nov 13: Anthony Davis had 30 points and 13 rebounds, Rui Hachimura scored eight of his 19 points in the final 3:43 and the Los Angeles Lakers overcame LeBron James’ injury absence to beat the Portland Trail Blazers 116-110 on Sunday night.
James missed a game for the first time this season, sitting out because of a bruised left calf. The top scorer in NBA history injured his shin in a collision with Kevin Durant during the first quarter in Phoenix on Friday night.
Although James returned to that game, the Lakers decided to rest the 38-year-old star Sunday for their long haul ahead, including back-to-back games starting Tuesday night.
James’ supporting cast couldn’t pull away from Portland, but Davis took charge down the stretch for the Lakers, scoring nine points in the fourth quarter while Los Angeles held on in its first game back from a 1-3 trip. “It’s Anthony Davis,” said Austin Reaves, who scored 18 points. “Anytime he gets on the floor — you never want to have LeBron or anybody out, but anytime you’ve got Anthony Davis on the floor, you’ve got a chance. He changes the game.”Cam Reddish scored 16 of his 18 points in the first half for Los Angeles, and D’Angelo Russell had 11 points and 11 assists.
“We’ve got to just come out from the jump and play to the best of our ability, with energy,” Reddish said. “Obviously, we got the win, so that’s all good, but I think we can do a better job of just playing hard throughout the whole 48.
But it was a good win.”Jerami Grant scored 23 points and Shaedon Sharpe added 19 for Portland, which has lost three straight after a three-game winning streak. (AP)
