The Los Angeles Lakers kept their luck alive on Monday with a 123-115 win over the Portland Trail Blazers. The team was without LeBron James, Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. Heading into the game, some expected the Lakers to struggle and lose to the Blazers. However, Deandre Ayton and Rui Hachimura set the tone offensively, leading to a win.
Ayton had 29 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks, taking the victory over his former team. Hachimura added 28 points on 66.7% shooting from the field. While the two frontcourt players did most of the work offensively, veteran guard Marcus Smart played solid defense to get the team going. The 2022 Defensive Player of the Year had nine points, five assists and four steals.
His impact on the floor couldn’t be ignored, and even Doncic had a lot of positive things to say about Smart.
“Unbelievable impact,” Doncic said. “I’ve played against this guy a lot. He was always guarding me, so I know how it feels for the other team. I’m glad he’s on my team, and the impact he has [is] unbelievable. He’s been hustling every game, every moment, every minute, every second.”
Smart is proving that the Lakers made a smart move by signing him to a two-year, $11 million deal over the summer. While Luka Doncic and the other stars were out, the former Boston Celtics guard took the chance to lead the team.
Following the win, the former lottery pick said that the team was determined to face the challenge ahead of them despite not having their best guys.
“You learn about the heart of the team,” Smart said. “We could have easily [come] in here and quit, and allow what happened to us last time when we played this team. We decided we didn’t want to do that. This team showed a lot of heart. That resilience that I’ve been talking about is starting to grow even more.”
Luka Doncic is off the injury list against the Spurs
The next game for the Lakers this season is on Wednesday against the San Antonio Spurs. After missing one game due to injury management, the team confirmed that Luka Doncic will be available to play. On Tuesday’s injury report, Doncic was off the list.
Reaves, who was out due to right groin soreness, was off the list. This season, the 6-foot-5 guard has been on a tear. He’s averaging 31.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 9.3 assists through seven games.
James, meanwhile, remains out of the lineup due to right sciatica. According to earlier reports, the four-time champion is expected to make his regular season debut this month.
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Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen on Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
