NBA: Lakers erase 25-point deficit to dispatch Blazers
LeBron James #6 of the Los Angeles Lakers shoots against the Portland Trail Blazers during the first half at Moda Center on January 22, 2023 in Portland, Oregon. Steph Chambers/Getty Images/AFP
LeBron James had 37 points and 11 rebounds, and the Los Angeles Lakers overcame a 25-point halftime deficit to record a 121-112 victory over the host Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday night.
Thomas Bryant matched his career-high of 31 points on 12-of-15 shooting and also collected 14 rebounds for the Lakers. Dennis Schroder added 24 points, eight assists and six rebounds as Los Angeles won its second straight game.
The Lakers outscored Portland 75-41 in the second half.
37 PTS
11 REB
4 ASTLeBron went off in the Lakers comeback win 😤 pic.twitter.com/dHjGC34xqx
— NBA (@NBA) January 23, 2023
Anfernee Simons made seven 3-pointers while scoring 31 points for the Trail Blazers, who lost for the 12th time in their past 16 contests. Damian Lillard had 24 points and 10 assists, Jerami Grant scored 19 points and Josh Hart added 13 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists for Portland.
Nassir Little scored 11 points and Drew Eubanks had 11 rebounds and a career-best six blocked shots for the Trail Blazers.
Portland shot 43 percent from the field, including 17 of 46 from 3-point range.
Troy Brown Jr. added 10 points for the Lakers, who connected on 52.3 percent of their shots and were 10 of 30 from behind the arc. Bryant matched his career-high of four 3-pointers on five attempts).
Bryant canned a trey to give Los Angeles a 98-97 advantage with 7:54 remaining — the Lakers’ first lead since early in the second quarter.
Portland later was leading by three before Schroder drained two 3-pointers during a 12-2 burst as Los Angeles took a 112-105 lead with 3:06 left.
What a night for Thomas Bryant:
– 31 points
– 14 rebounds
– 4 threes
– 80% FG
– 25 point Lakers comeback W pic.twitter.com/xrSw14QnD7— NBA (@NBA) January 23, 2023
Bryant later threw down two putback dunks in a span of 39 seconds as the Lakers led 116-109 with 1:44 remaining.
Brown’s 3-pointer gave Los Angeles a 119-110 advantage with 46.6 seconds to play and the Lakers closed it out.
The Trail Blazers outscored the Lakers 45-13 in the second quarter to hold a 71-46 halftime lead. Simons had 22 points in the first half for Portland and James tallied 17 for the Lakers.
Los Angeles jumped out to a quick 18-4 lead and led 33-26 at the end of the first quarter. After James scored the first basket of the second quarter, the Trail Blazers ripped off a 25-5 burst to take a 51-40 lead.
Portland’s lead was 12 before it scored the final 13 points of the half to elevate the margin to 25.
Los Angeles used a 21-3 surge in the third quarter to pull within 81-74 with 4:40 left. Overall, the Lakers outscored the Trail Blazers 40-20 in the stanza to trim Portland’s lead to 91-86.
