ROCKY START FOR LA, LEBRON
After highlight reel start to Lakers career, King James walks off Moda Court with a season-opening loss
PORTLAND, OREGON— 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 128119 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 nonHodgkin’s lymphoma. He was 65. There was a 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 cofounder 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.
“Wewanted 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 An- geles 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 4640 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.
“He really got in a groove and the guy can shoot, we’ve seen it in practice,” coach Terry Stotts said about Stauskas. “I was really happy for him to start the season like that with a new team. The shots that he made were all in the flow of the offense.”
James had 18 points but collected a third foul with 6:04 left in the half.