During a special day of commemorating Kobe Bryant’s legacy, the Los Angeles Lakers carved a resounding 135-115 Game 4 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.
Photo by Mark J. Terrill/AP
The Lakers controlled the game from start to finish as the purple-and-gold squad paid tribute to the late great Kobe Bryant during this 8/24 playoff day. LeBron James again put up another brilliant all-around display of 30 points, 6 rebounds and 10 assists, while only logging in 28 minutes of playing time.
The Lakeshow stormed right out the gates in the opening frame as they totaled 43 points in the first quarter, and had an 80-51 advantage by the end of the first half. They never looked back from that point on as the team produced an uber-efficient 56% overall clip from the field, including 43% from the three-point line.
Anthony Davis and Kyle Kuzma chipped in 18 markers apiece, and shooters Danny Green and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope contributed 14 and 12 markers, respectively. Dwight Howard came off the bench to pour in 13 points and 8 boards as the Lakers take a commanding 3-1 lead in their first-round playoff match-up with the Blazers.
Jusuf Nurkic topscored for Portland with his 20 points and 13 boards, while CJ McCollum amassed 18 markers. All eyes are now on Damian Lillard, who sustained a knee injury and exited the game early.
SCORES
Lakers (135) – James 30, Davis 18, Kuzma 18, Green 14, Howard 13, Caldwell-Pope 12, McGee 8, Caruso 5, Morris 5, Cook 5, Waiters 4, Smith 3, Dudley 0
Blazers (115) – Nurkic 20, McCollum 18, Anthony 16, Trent Jr. 13, Lillard 11, Whiteside 11, Hezonja 11, Gabriel 10, Simons 3, Hoard 2, Adams 0
