The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 99-94 on Wednesday night.
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Going into the fourth quarter, Anthony Davis was adamant that the Los Angeles Lakers would not lose for the fourth time in a row. The Lakers rallied for a 99-94 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night, with the All-Star big scoring 19 of his 30 points in the final 12 minutes. Davis also collected 15 rebounds, seven of which came in the fourth quarter. He has now scored at least 30 points and grabbed at least 15 rebounds in three games this season.
Anthony Davis said, “I just tried to come out with the mindset of ending the streak. We have to play with some urgency. We just fought hard tonight. It was a great game for us.”
Los Angeles was behind 75-72 entering the fourth quarter before going on an 8-1 run to take the lead. Midway through the quarter, it went ahead five points, but Norman Powell’s 3-pointer with 2:44 left knotted it up at 89.
With 52 seconds left, the Lakers took control with six straight points from Davis, giving them a 95-89 lead.
Lakers coach Frank Vogel said, “He had some great sequences of grabbing rebounds in traffic. Tonight was about mental toughness and making enough plays and shots. It was a hell of a game by Anthony.”
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Carmelo Anthony scored 24 points for the team. LA was without LeBron James for the fourth game in a row due to left knee pain. During the first half, Anthony was the Lakers’ offensive engine, scoring 18 points on four 3-pointers.
Pure Scorer ??? pic.twitter.com/8EFKKXrK1G
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) February 3, 2022
Powell scored 30 points and matched a season-best with five 3-pointers to lead the Trail Blazers. Jusuf Nurkic recorded a double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds, while Anfernee Simons scored 19 points.
Portland has now lost three in a row and five of its past six games.
Dwight Howard’s three-point shot gave the Lakers a 34-21 lead less than three minutes into the second quarter, but the Blazers recovered with a 17-5 run over the next four minutes. Powell scored 12 points in the fourth, including a running layup with 2:16 left to tie the game at 48.
The Blazers trailed 54-53 at halftime and didn’t grab the lead until early in the third quarter when CJ McCollum hit a 3-pointer. The Lakers drew within 75-72 at the end of the fourth after Portland expanded its lead to 71-65 on a basket by Simmons with 3:44 remaining.
The Lakers (25-27) remain in ninth place in the Western Conference, but they now have a four-game lead over the Trail Blazers, who hold the final play-in berth.
On Thursday, the Lakers face the Clippers (26-27). With a victory, they’ll move up to the ninth place. The Lakers sit three and a half games behind Denver for sixth place in the Western Conference, which would eliminate them from the play-in tournament.
The Lakers are starting to peek at the standings, according to Anthony, but that is not their primary priority right now.
