Anthony Davis scored 31 points and grabbed 11 rebounds Thursday, and the Los Angeles Lakers played to their credentials as the top seed in the Western Conference playoffs, earning a 111-88 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers in Game 2 of their first-round series near Orlando.
LeBron James added a modest 10 points with six rebounds and seven assists in 27 minutes as the Lakers rebounded from a 100-93 defeat to the eighth-seeded Blazers in Game 1.
It was the Lakers’ first victory in the playoffs since Game 3 of the 2012 Western Conference semifinals against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Unlike Tuesday, when the Lakers trailed by 11 after one quarter, they led by as many as nine points in the opening 12 minutes Thursday and were up by as many as 17 in the first half. The advantage reached 32 late in the third quarter as the Lakers jumped on top 88-56.
Blazers guard Damian Lillard was held to 18 points while CJ McCollum added 13. Portland was limited to 40 percent shooting from the field and 27.6 percent (8 of 29) from 3-point range.
Lillard, who left the game with a dislocated left index finger late in the third quarter, had his lowest scoring game since the NBA’s restart late last month. He scored at least 34 points in each of his previous five games, including a 61-point effort on Aug. 11 against the Dallas Mavericks.
Davis took charge early in Game 2, scoring 21 points by halftime and reaching 31 through three quarters. He did not play in the fourth. Davis was 13 of 21 from the field and 3 of 4 from 3-point range. In Game 1, he had 28 points on 8-of-24 shooting and missed all five of his 3-point attempts.
The victory came as James took more of a background role one game after he amassed 23 points, 17 rebounds and 16 assists. The 10 points Thursday marked his lowest scoring playoff game since he had seven points for the Miami Heat in Game 5 of the 2014 Eastern Conference Finals against the Indiana Pacers.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 16 for the Lakers while JR Smith had 11 and JaVale McGee added 10. Los Angeles shot 47.8 percent from the field and 36.8 percent (14 of 38) from 3-point range.
The Lakers had a 50-41 rebounding advantage and forced Portland into 17 turnovers.
—Field Level Media
