After losing to the Clippers, the Portland Trail Blazers ended their Los Angeles road trip on a high note with a road win at the Lakers, improving to 2–2. The opponent also held a 2–2 record, playing without the injured LeBron James and Luka Dončić.
Deni Avdija continued his strong start to the season, finishing with 25 points (8-of-17 FG, 5-of-8 from three, 4-of-4 free throws), 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 blocks and 1 steal in 32 minutes.
Early in the third quarter he hit 5-of-5 from three-point range before cooling off slightly — but still ended up his team’s leading scorer for the third time in four games.
The game was tied or close for much of the first half, with the lead changing hands several times. In the final three minutes of the second quarter, Portland jumped out to a seven-point lead and never allowed the Lakers to regain control. In the third quarter the Blazers extended the margin into double digits thanks to contributions from Donovan Clingan and Avdija, and maintained it the rest of the way.
Alongside Avdija, Jrue Holiday (24 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds), Jerami Grant (22 points) and Clingan (16 points, 14 rebounds) were instrumental in the win. On the other side, Austin Reaves continued his fine form, scoring 41 points for the Lakers — but his effort was not enough.
Meanwhile, the Brooklyn Nets’ difficult season start continued as they fell again, losing 137–109 on the road to the Houston Rockets in their fourth straight defeat.
Israeli guard Ben Saraf started and logged 6 points and 5 assists; he also hit two of five three-point attempts (2-5) and 2-of-8 overall, added a rebound and a steal but also two turnovers in 25 minutes of play. The team was competitive in the first half but collapsed in the second, allowing the Rockets to pull away significantly.
Houston’s Tari Eason scored 22 points off the bench, Alperen Şengün added 21 points with 6 rebounds and 6 assists, and Kevin Durant contributed 19 points. On Brooklyn’s side, Terance Mann had 21 and Michael Porter Jr. scored 18.