Anthony Davis recorded 30 points, 11 rebounds and five blocked shots to help the Los Angeles Lakers cruise to a 107-98 victory over the visiting Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday night.
D’Angelo Russell achieved season bests of 28 points and 14 assists for the Lakers, who played without LeBron James (foot). Rui Hachimura added 23 points and four steals for Los Angeles, which halted a three-game losing streak.
Shaedon Sharpe scored 19 points and Deandre Ayton had 14 points and a season-high 19 rebounds before fouling out for the Trail Blazers, who lost their fourth straight game. Anfernee Simons also scored 14 points, while Scoot Henderson and Deni Avdija added 13 apiece.
The Lakers created distance in the fourth quarter when Russell made two 3-pointers and Cam Reddish hit one during a 9-0 spurt that gave the Lakers a 97-81 advantage with 7:14 to play.
Hachimura and Davis added 3-pointers as the advantage grew to 103-85 with 5:31 to play. The lead topped out at 20 points as the Lakers won for just the third time in their past 10 games.
Los Angeles made 45.8 percent of its shots from the field, including 13 of 34 from 3-point range. Russell made five attempts from beyond the arc.
Jerami Grant finished with just three points on 1-of-12 shooting as Portland shot 41.7 percent overall and was 9-for-36 from 3-point range.
The Trail Blazers were behind by 14 points at halftime before scoring the first nine points of the second half to move within 59-54 on a three-point play by Simons.
The Lakers answered with a 9-2 run, which was capped by Dalton Knecht’s dunk that pushed Los Angeles’ lead to 68-56 with 4:50 left in the third quarter.
Henderson intercepted Russell’s long pass in the final seconds of the quarter, dribbled to midcourt and hit a 48-foot shot to bring Portland within 77-74 as time expired in the third.
The Blazers led 35-27 after Avdija’s basket with 8:43 left in the first half before Los Angeles scored 15 straight points to start a 30-8 surge.
Max Christie and Gabe Vincent capped the stretch with back-to-back 3-pointers for a 57-43 advantage.
The Lakers led 59-45 at the break behind 18 points from Davis and 16 from Hachimura. Sharpe had 12 points in the first half for the Trail Blazers.
