Luka Doncic scored 53 points to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to victory over the visiting Portland Trail Blazers 124-118 in the NBA Cup on Friday, while LeBron James' recent return to Cleveland ended in a loss.
Doncic's new brilliant game helped the Lakers overcome a slow start during which they found themselves trailing by as much as 16 points in the second quarter.
The Slovenian concluded the first half with a stunning shot from beyond the arc of his team's area, reducing the difference to seven points, and paving the way for his team's uprising in the second half.
The Trail Blazers had reduced the gap to four points in the last minute when Doncic scored a dropped shot (Flotter), before the Lakers held on to their lead and achieved their fourth victory in a row.
Doncic scored 40 or more points in six of his last seven games, joining Elgin Baylor, Kobe Bryant and George Mikan as only four players in Lakers history to score 40 or more points in four consecutive regular-season games.
“I'm having a lot of fun,” said Doncic, who also added five rebounds and five assists. Obviously playing basketball is a lot of fun for me. "It becomes more fun when you play like this and win matches."
This was the eleventh game in Doncic's career in which he scored 50 points or more, and his fourth in a Lakers jersey, surpassing LeBron James and equaling Mikan's record for fourth place on the list of the team's players with the most goals in games of this type.
As for James, who left the Lakers for the Philadelphia 76ers in June, he played his first match in Cleveland with the jersey of his new team, but the Cavaliers spoiled his comeback with a 119-95 victory that ended a streak of five consecutive victories for Philadelphia.
James, who many expected to choose a third stint with Cleveland before deciding to move to Philadelphia, was greeted with a standing ovation, including some boos, when he was introduced to the crowd.
The four-time league champion star, who is playing his 24th season in the league at the age of 41, also received new applause when he left the match late in the final quarter.
But in between, the evening was difficult for James and his teammates.
The best scorer in the history of the league finished the match with only eight points, after making three shots out of 12 attempts, with seven rebounds, three assists, two steals and six ball losses.
Star center Joel Embiid also failed to score any of his nine attempts from open play, settling for six points from six free throws.
Jaylen Brown, another newcomer during the period between the two seasons, led the Sixers by scoring 20 points, but the Cavaliers took control early and succeeded in repelling all of Philadelphia’s attempts to come back.
Donovan Mitchell scored 10 of his 23 points in the first quarter, and Evan Mobley added 22 points, while Cleveland outscored Philadelphia in rebounds 56-42 despite the absence of center player Jarrett Allen due to injury.
"I didn't feel like I was in a good rhythm offensively," James said. We didn't look good offensively. We had some good spells, and we managed to close the gap to three points in the third quarter. But I made too many mistakes in passing.”
Friday's matches were held as part of the group stage of the NBA Cup, which continues throughout the month of November.
The quarter-final matches of the tournament, which is organized within the season, will be held on December 4 and 5, followed by the semi-final matches on December 8 and 9, with the final match being held on December 11.
The Boston Celtics rained down on the host Charlotte Hornets with 24 three-pointers out of 44 attempts, on their way to a sweeping victory with a score of 119-80.
Jason Tatum scored five three-pointers on his way to scoring 34 points, the highest in the match, for Boston, which led by 46 points during the match that it controlled from beginning to end.
French giant San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wimpanyama led his team to victory over the host Sacramento Kings 124-109, after scoring 30 points and 14 rebounds, days after his remarkable brilliance by scoring 52 points and 24 rebounds in the victory over Dallas.
The Oklahoma City Thunder continued its dominance over the Memphis Grizzlies by defeating them 128-97 in Memphis.
Ajay Mitchell scored the best number of his career by scoring 35 points, and Canadian Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who won the league's best player award in the past two seasons, added 28 points for the Thunder, who achieved their thirteenth consecutive victory over the Grizzlies in regular season matches, despite the absence of their injured key players, Jaylen Williams, Kayson Wallace, and Chet Holmgren.
Their absence had no effect; The Thunder led 71-49 at the end of the first half.
