Trail Blazers Shoot Their Way to Victory Over Lakers

The Portland Trail Blazers defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 136-129 in a high-scoring Tuesday night contest between undefeated teams. Portland overcame poor interior defense and foul trouble by relying on sharp perimeter shooting, converting 18 of 36 three-point attempts. Damian Lillard helped seal the fourth-quarter comeback with a decisive step-back three-pointer with 43 seconds remaining, finishing with 21 points.

Ja Morant and Deni Avdija contributed 23 points each for Portland, while Jrue Holiday added 22 points off the bench under head coach Micah Nori. Despite the loss, Luka Doncic led the Lakers with a game-high 41 points and nine assists as Los Angeles capitalized on 22 fastbreak points before cooling off late.