Portland Trail Blazers @ Los Angeles Lakers
Thursday, January 2, 2025 at 10:30 PM ET
Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, CA | Game ID: 22400468
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
LAL 27 33 28 26 114POR 31 20 24 31 106
ESPN UpdateESPN Update
LeBron James, Max Christie carry Lakers past Blazers 114-106 for their 6th win in 8 games
LOS ANGELES -- — LeBron James scored 38 points, Max Christie had a career-high 28 and the Los Angeles Lakers overcame Anthony Davis ' absence for a 114-106 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday night.
James hit a season-high seven 3-pointers and Christie added five for the Lakers, who have won six of eight. Austin Reaves contributed 15 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds as Los Angeles hung on to beat Portland for the fifth straight time.
Davis sat out for only the second time this season to rest his sprained left ankle, which the star big man hurt on Christmas. Point guard Gabe Vincent also sat with a hip injury.
Anfernee Simons scored 11 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter for the Blazers, who have lost four of six. Shaedon Sharpe and Deni Avdija added 19 points apiece.
Jaxson Hayes had four points while starting in Davis’ spot in his return from a 15-game injury absence.
Dorian Finney-Smith scored three points and Shake Milton had four in the veterans' second game for the Lakers since arriving in a trade with Brooklyn .
Takeaways Trail Blazers: The first and fourth quarters were promising, but they waited too long to get aggressive in the opener of a five-game road trip after going 3-9 in December.
Lakers: Christie is emerging as a key contributor in his third season. He has scored in double digits for the fourth time in five games, providing 3-and-D excellence.
Key moment Portland trailed 99-86 with 6:13 to play, but made a 14-4 run. James and Christie combined for 11 points down the stretch, capped by James' seventh 3-pointer with 59 seconds left.
Key stat 14 of 24 — James' 3-point shooting over the past four games. He turned 40 midway through this torrid stretch.
Up next The Lakers host Atlanta on Friday. The Blazers visit Damian Lillard and the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday.
POR KarmaHide StintsShow StintsHide PMShow PMHide KarmaShow KarmaHide ScoresShow Scores
Who
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
LALAR A. Reaves
CK C. Koloko
CR C. Reddish
DF D. Finney-Smith
DK D. Knecht
JH J. Hayes
LJ L. James
MC M. Christie
RH R. Hachimura
SM S. Milton
PORAS A. Simons
DA D. Avdija
DA D. Ayton
DB D. Banton
DC D. Clingan
KM K. Murray
SH S. Henderson
SS S. Sharpe
TC T. Camara
LAL/POR the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur