LeBron James scored 40 points, and the Los Angeles Lakers went on a 16-5 run in the fourth quarter to beat the Portland Trail Blazers 110-102.
It was tied at 81 when Austin Reaves’ driving layup put the Lakers ahead for good with 10:24 left. James scored 10 points as they pulled away to a 97-86 lead with 5:43 left.
During clutch time, the Lakers outscored the Trail Blazers 7-0. Reaves scored 5 of the Lakers’ 7 on 1 for 3 shooting and 2 for 2 at the line.
Reaves had 32 points and 7 assists. The Lakers had 2 30-point scorers.
For the Trail Blazers, Deni Avdija scored 28 points (16 in the third quarter) on 9 for 14 shooting, and Toumani Camara added 19 points and a career-high 5 steals on 7 for 8 shooting.
The Lakers went 23 for 25 at the line to the Trail Blazers’ 14 for 21. The Trail Blazers got 6 offensive rebounds, about 6 fewer than usual for the shots they missed. They outscored the Lakers 31-16 off turnovers. The Trail Blazers outscored the Lakers 25-15 in 7 minutes with Williams, Avdija, Banton, Henderson and Camara on the floor together. Jerami Grant fouled out.