Luka Dončić scored 53 points as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Portland Trail Blazers 124–118 in their NBA Cup game on 6 November, according to the NBA's final report. The result put Los Angeles at the top of the Western Conference.
Dončić drives the third-quarter turn
The NBA's 7 November live account shows Portland ahead 60–53 at half-time. Dončić then scored 20 in the third quarter as the Lakers won that period 34–15 and moved in front 87–75. The swing reversed the direction of a game Portland had controlled through the first half.
The official Lakers box score for 6 November lists Austin Reaves with 25 points and Walker Kessler with 16 points and 12 rebounds. For Portland, Deni Avdija scored 22 and supplied 11 assists, while Damian Lillard also scored 22. Those contributions kept the contest close even after the Lakers' third-quarter surge.
SportsRivo checked the Lakers' final box score against the NBA's live account for 6 November. Dončić made 17 of 33 field-goal attempts, including five of 15 from three-point range, and converted 14 of 18 free throws. The box score also records five rebounds and five assists. This separates the shooting line from the live report's account of his decisive third quarter.
NBA Cup result in a scoring run
According to the Lakers’ game page, this was a West Group C match-up. The NBA’s 7 November report says the win over Portland moved the Lakers into first place in the Western Conference, so the result mattered both in Group C and in the conference standings. According to SportsRivo’s 26 October article, Dončić scored 52 points in the Lakers’ win over the Utah Jazz on 25 October. The NBA’s 7 November report describes the Portland game as Dončić’s fourth consecutive game with at least 40 points.
What the win changes
- The NBA's 7 November account says the Lakers moved to first place in the Western Conference after beating Portland.
- The NBA's 7 November account says Dončić became the fourth Laker to score at least 40 in four straight games, and the first since Kobe Bryant in January 2012.
- The NBA's 7 November report says Dončić matched Elgin Baylor as the only players with four consecutive games of at least 40 points, five rebounds and five assists.
Source: NBA Cup recap