Blazers spoil James’ debut with 128-119 win over the Lakers
PORTLAND, Ore. — LeBron James’ debut for the Los Angeles Lakers opened with two thunderous dunks and closed with a loss.
He finished with 26 points and 12 rebounds, but the Portland Trail Blazers prevailed 128-119 Thursday night in the season opener for both teams.
James insisted the new-look Lakers were going to be a work in progress.
“It’s not instant oatmeal. It’s not that fast,” James said. “It takes some time to get that chemistry where you can just close your eyes and know exactly where guys are.”
Damian Lillard had 28 points and Nik Stauskas came off the bench to score 24 for Portland, which won its 18th straight home opener to extend an NBA record. It was the Blazers’ 16th straight victory over the Lakers.
The opening festivities were tempered by the death this week of Trail Blazers owner Paul Allen. A “Rip City” baseball cap rested in Allen’s courtside seat with a single rose.
The enigmatic cofounder of Microsoft died Monday in Seattle from complications of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He was 65. There was moment of silence before the game and tributes to Allen throughout the night.
On the court, the focus was all on James. His monster dunks to start stunned the Moda Center crowd while Nike co-founder Phil Knight looked on from courtside seats.
James signed a four-year, $153 million deal with the Lakers as a free agent in the offseason after winning three NBA championship rings and taking his team — Miami and Cleveland — to the NBA Finals for each of the last eight seasons.
The four-time league MVP joined a revamped group that includes veterans Rajon Rondo, JaVale McGee, Lance Stephenson and Michael Beasley, as well as a young core of Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, Josh Hart and rookie Moe Wagner.
While the Lakers made big changes in the offseason, the Trail Blazers returned all five starters from a team that finished third in the Western Conference last season — including the nucleus of Lillard, CJ McCollum and Jusuf Nurkic.
“We wanted to come out and start the season right and to honor our owner, Mr. Paul Allen. That’s what tonight was all about for us, not about the noise surrounding the game,” Lillard said.
James’ putback gave Los Angeles a 25-15 lead. He played just under nine minutes in the opening quarter and led all scorers with 13 points.
Portland pulled in front 46-40 on Stauskas’ 3-pointer. Stauskas, who signed with the Blazers as a free agent this past summer, led all Blazers with 16 points in the opening half. Portland pushed the lead to 11 but led just 65-63 at the break.
Caldwell-Pope’s 3pointer with 30.7 seconds left got the Lakers within 124-118, but Stauskas made a pair of free throws and Los Angeles couldn’t catch up. AT LEAST 60 national and university coaches, athletes and sports science practitioners are expected to attend the third installment of the Sports Science Lecture Series at the PhilSports Complex, Pasig City on December 7.
The Philippine Sports Commission, SERENA Williams’ coach says in-match coaching should be allowed in tennis to help the sport’s popularity.
Patrick Mouratoglou, who admitted he used banned hand signals to try to help Williams during her loss in the U.S. Open final, wrote Thursday in a posting on Twitter that making coaching part of the spectacle with the Korea Institute of Sports Science is now preparing for the said event which shall tackle topics on Sports Physiology, Sports Psychology and Sports Policy among others.
UNESCO-KISS Chair Program Manager Hyunwoo Jung, together with Administrator Joopeel Kim, would let “viewers enjoy it as a show” and “ensure that it remains pivotal in the sport.”
Mouratoglou also pointed to what he called a “hypocrisy” — players currently are getting coached at tournaments that ban coaching.
And he pointed out that all sorts of individual sports — boxing, golf, cycling — KISS Senior Researcher Youngkoo Noh and Administrator for Donation and Volunteering Minju Park will lead resource speakers of said seminar.
“We have a standing Memorandum-ofUnderstanding with KISS for two years now, and we at the PSC are happy to be permit athletes to consult someone during competition.
“I have never understood why tennis is just about the only sport in which coaching during matches is not allowed,” Mouratoglou wrote.
Quite a bit of debate about the topic of on-court coaching was sparked when chair umpire Carlos Ramos gave Williams able to conduct another sports science series with them,” said PSC Chairman William Ramirez.
The first sports science series was held in December 2016. The KISS contingent then returned to the country last September 2017 for the second edition. a code violation after Mouratoglou gestured in her direction early in the second set of Naomi Osaka’s 6-2, 6-4 victory over the American for the title at Flushing Meadows last month.
Mouratoglou thinks part of the appeal of allowing coaching is that it would help get viewers “emotionally involved.”