Anthony Davis Drops 31 as Lakers Crush Damian Lillard, Blazers in Game 2

Kevin C. Cox/Associated Press

The top-seeded Los Angeles Lakers will breathe a little easier after they evened their first-round series with the Portland Trail Blazers via a 111-88 victory Thursday night in the 2020 NBA playoffs.

LeBron James had a triple-double in Game 1 (23 points, 17 rebounds, 16 assists), but the Lakers’ supporting cast—including Anthony Davis—struggled to find their touch. James was 9-of-20 from the field, with the rest of the team shooting just 32.5 percent.

The Blazers also had a 24-point advantage in three-pointers, with Damian Lillard’s six made threes eclipsing Los Angeles’ five. 

The shoe was on the other foot in Game 2 as Lillard and CJ McCollum were 2-of-12 on three-pointers. Their poor shooting underscored how suffocating the Lakers were on defense, which helped Los Angeles build a 17-point lead, 56-39, at halftime.

The Lakers continued to coast in the second half, with both head coaches emptying out their bench for the majority of the fourth quarter.

Making matters worse for Portland, Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reported Lillard suffered a dislocated left index finger, which is casting some doubt on his availability for Game 3.

Notable Performers

Anthony Davis, PF, Lakers: 13-21 FG, 31 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, one steal, one block

LeBron James, SF, Lakers: 4-11 FG, 10 points, six rebounds, seven assists, two steals

Damian Lillard, PG, Blazers: 6-14 FG, 18 points, three rebounds, one assist, one steal

CJ McCollum, SG, Blazers: 6-16 FG, 13 points, five rebounds, three assists

Davis Leads Dominant Showing

Los Angeles’ perimeter game still left something to be desired, but it didn’t matter because L.A. hammered Portland inside. The Lakers claimed a 52-40 edge on points in the paint.

Davis in particular took it upon himself to attack the Blazers in the paint.

The seven-time All-Star nearly had a double-double in the first half, scoring 21 points and collecting eight rebounds. No one player was more indicative of the Lakers’ improvement between Games 1 and 2 than Davis.

When the NBA suspended the season in March, the Lakers had a 5.5-game lead on the Los Angeles Clippers for the best record in the Western Conference. As a result, they didn’t have to do much in the restart to secure the No. 1 seed, and that might have fed into their performance. They dropped five of their eight seeding games.

Between that and Tuesday’s loss, it seemed reasonable to wonder whether Los Angeles would have its hands full against the Blazers, who were riding a wave of confidence.

If this is the version of the Lakers that shows up for the remainder of the series, they might have things wrapped up in five games.

Reality Sets in for Portland

Coming into the postseason, James made the point that the Blazers are “not your typical eighth seed,” which is true to some extent. With a healthy Jusuf Nurkic for a full season, Portland might have finished higher in the standings.

But that doesn’t mean the Blazers are in the same class as the Lakers when the two teams are at their best.

During the regular season, Los Angeles was third (106.1) in defensive rating compared to 27th for Portland (114.3), per NBA.com, and that wide gulf was on display Thursday.

Fatigue might become a factor in the series as well.

The Lakers might have been playing in first or second gear during the seeding round, yet one obvious benefit to that approach was that the players weren’t expending excess energy. The Blazers, meanwhile, were fighting for their playoff lives, which surely exacted a physical and mental toll.

Just Los Angeles responded after Game 1, Portland will probably be better in Game 3.

In all likelihood, that won’t be enough to drastically change where the series looks to be going.

What’s Next?

The teams return to the court Saturday for Game 3. The tip is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET, with coverage on ABC.