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LOS ANGELES – With three points scored Wednesday night and LeBron James, the most prolific rain factor of all time, the Lakers moved to 8-6 with a 126-117 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers at Staples Center .
Trail Blazers are an interesting landmark for the Lakers. Los Angeles opened the season in Portland with a mundane defeat, after which James said the Lakers product was not instant oatmeal. The Lakers avenged this defeat a few weeks later in a close game in which the Trail Blazers missed 10 unconfirmed three-point shots.
If Wednesday's win is an indication, then the Lakers have improved both food and presentation – thanks to famed chef LeBron James. One night when he overtook Wilt Chamberlain as the NBA's fifth-leading scorer, James made his most exciting performance of the season, scoring 44 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists.
James demanded much of his damage by bombarding away unholy distances, draining 5 of 6 players beyond the bow, which he did most in one game as Laker. Just before half-time, he gave the Lakers their first lead since the first minutes, when he climbed to nearly 20 meters and buried a triple. Twenty-four seconds later, he dribbled to such an obscene place and drained another. As a team, the Lakers scored 15 of their 32 attempts in 3 points, which corresponds to the 15 that they converted against Minnesota.
The Lakers, who entered the game in fourth place in the semi-field possession, generated a disproportionate number of good looks. JaVale McGee graduated as a garbage collector in garbage dump, finding herself again and again on the passes of James, Brandon Ingram and others while dragging herself to the brink when the Trail Blazers' defense converges on the markers the perimeter of the Lakers. McGee finished with 20 points on 12 field shots – his third game of 20 points or more this season – with a few blocks.
Finding opportunities for Ingram to flourish was a challenge for the Lakers early in the season. But on Wednesday, he managed to beat CJ McCollum left the dribble on straight-line drives, and discovered and nailed a couple of jumpers. These are neither the most creative games nor shots, nor those of elegant players, but for a young player who struggled to find a place in the Lakers offensive, it was a generally effective night with more impact – 17 points and four assists, without a turnover.
Even though it was just a record-breaking defensive performance, while offering an unacceptable three-point open number and allowing Portland to achieve an actual shooting percentage of over 70% in the first quarter, the Lakers continued to progressively improve their fortunes at the end of the season. ground. They face dribbling penetration with greater awareness and apply better defensive pressure to the point of attack on the pick and roll. That allowed them to play holes in the Trail Blazers' half-court – the Lakers racked up 11 interceptions in the night.
The Lakers will probably be favored in their next five games, a good opportunity to consolidate in the ranks of the Western Conference. They read the ground with more skill, learn to play with LeBron 's instinct and tighten their screws in what was a porous defense it was not so long ago. In a league dominated by tragedies from the west to the east, the Lakers are at the moment in the end rather than the suspense suspense of the continuum.
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