Basketball
The Blazers let the Lakers sink even further
Shockingly, the Blazers youngsters defeated the disappointing Lakers 107-105, plunging them even deeper into despair. Fantastic Anferny Simmons with 25 points in the second half.
The Blazers have decided in recent days that they will focus on tanking, giving up McCollum, Covington and Powell in exchange for…crumbs. And yet this version of the Blazers defeated them 107-105 – sans Russell Westbrook – Lakers, in a resounding handcuff for the LA team.
Portland was spirited and motivated, which can’t be said of the Lakers. Those two proved sufficient as the Blazers stayed close to goal for three seasons and ended up striking and earning a great win.
Anferny Simmons with 29 points (25 of them in the second half) took over the Blazers’ hand, with Yusuf Nurkic adding 19 points and Dennis Smith adding 7 points, 11 assists and 6 steals.
With the Lakers suffering their third loss in the last 4 games, LeBron James had 30 points and Anthony Davis had 17 points.
THE TWELVE MINUTES: 18-18, 47-54, 76-78, 107-105
BLAZER: Winslow 11 (8 rebounds), Nurkic 19 (12 rebounds), McLemore 8 (2/11 3-pointers), Simmons 29 (5/11 3-pointers, 5 assists), Eleby 8 (8 rebounds), Watford 6, Brown 11 (1), Blavins 8 (2), Smith 7 (11 assists, 6 steals)
LAKERS: Davis 17 (7 rebounds, 6 assists, 5 blocks), James 30 (3 3-pointers, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, 6 errors), Ariza 6 (2 3-pointers, 5 rebounds), Bradley 6 (2), Monk 7 (1), Johnson 11 (1 threes, 6 rebounds), Ellington 9 (3), Reeves 5 (1), Horton-Tucker 14 (4 threes, 7 assists)
Jessica Martinez is an author at Sportish, a publication dedicated to sports news and analysis. She covers various topics related to sports and provides insightful commentary on the latest developments in the world of sports.