January 2, 2025; Los Angeles, California, United States; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) heads to the court after a 3-point basket in the first half against the Portland Path Blazers at Crypto.com Enviornment. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Photographs
LeBron James scored 38 points with eight assists and Max Christie added a career-high 28 as the Los Angeles Lakers overcame the absence of Anthony Davis to earn a 114-106 victory over the visiting Portland Path Blazers on Thursday.
Austin Reaves scored 15 points and 11 assists as the Lakers won for the sixth time in their last eight games. Davis, who leads Los Angeles with 26.1 points and 11.6 rebounds, had to miss late with a sprained left ankle.
Anfernee Simons scored 23 points, while Shaedon Sharpe and Deni Avdija each added 19 as the Path Blazers lost for the 10th time in their last 13 games. Toumani Camara scored 18 points and Avdija added 10 rebounds for Portland, which lost its seventh straight road game. Two of those losses came against the Lakers.
Trailing by up to seven points in the second quarter, the Lakers closed the first half on a 10-2 run to take a 60-51 lead into halftime.
Christie, known for his defensive presence in the backcourt, scored 12 points in the second quarter alone, while James scored 14 in the period.
Los Angeles widened the gap to 88-75 heading into the fourth quarter, with James (nine points) and Christie (seven) also leading the third period charge.
The Lakers led 99-86 with 6:13 remaining after Christie’s fifth 3-pointer of the game before the Blazers rallied to within 101-97 on three free throws from Simons and two more from Avdija to cap an 11-2 run.
Portland pulled within 103-100 possession with 2:30 left after a Simons 3-pointer, before James scored five points on a 7-2 Los Angeles run for a 110-102 lead with 59 seconds left.
Without Davis, the Lakers received internal help with the return of Jaxson Hayes, who has played just once since Nov. 13 and has been sidelined the previous 15 games with an ankle injury. Hayes scored four points with six rebounds in 18 minutes.
–Media at field level
