The Los Angeles Lakers had their first loss of the season on Tuesday against the Portland Trail Blazers on our own Crypto.com arena. Although the game was extremely tight with the score staying within a five-point difference for most of the game, the Trail Blazers ultimately won by seven points with a 136-129 score.
The nerve-racking game started with the Lakers leading 73-68 in halftime, before Portland ultimately picked up the pace to outscore Los Angeles by the end of the game.
Despite the loss, the Lakers are still showing promise as a powerhouse this season. Luka Dončić continues to dominate the court after his 50-bomb against the Utah Jazz on Sunday. Dončić scored 41 points, with five rebounds and nine assists. Austin Reaves scored 26 for the Lakers, while newcomer Walker Kessler continues to impress with 13 points scored and eight rebounds.
The Trail Blazers put up an incredible performance, cementing themselves as one of the most promising teams of this season. Star players Ja Morant and Deni Avdija both scored 23 points each with franchise legend Damian Lillard scoring 21. Jrue Holiday delivered 22 points with four rebounds and three assists.
With this nerve-racking end to the streak, the Lakers now hold a 3 wins and 1 loss record this season.
Tuesday’s game also stood out as it broke the record for most flop techs given out in an NBA game. A flopping foul is a non-unsportsmanlike technical foul that is given out when the referee determines a player intentionally fell or exaggerated an injury in hopes of getting the opposing team a foul. Three flopping techs were given out yesterday against different Portland players, the most in any NBA game.
Ja Morant, who received one of these fouls, said he plans to appeal these fouls in a post-game interview.
Despite this loss, the Los Angeles Lakers have proven that this team is one of the most promising in recent seasons and that Los Angeles is determined to make an impact.
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