October 29, 2026 at 3:14 AM UTC

Postgame Report

Blazers Hand Lakers First Loss, 136-129, to Stay Unbeaten

By How we produce articles

Portland arrived 2-0 and left Los Angeles 3-0, ending the Lakers' perfect start despite a 41-point night from Luka Doncic.

The Lakers came in 3-0 with the league's best offense, and they scored 129 points on Tuesday night. It wasn't enough. Portland won 136-129 at the Lakers' arena, sending Los Angeles to 3-1 and handing it a first loss that the early numbers had suggested might be a while coming.

The Blazers were 2-0 themselves, so one team's streak was always going to end. Theirs survived on the road, with four starters and Jrue Holiday off the bench all scoring at least 21. Deni Avdija had 23 points and nine assists, Ja Morant also scored 23, and Holiday added 22 in 30 minutes. Robert Williams III gave them 14 points and 10 rebounds in 21 minutes, the only double-double of the night.

Luka Doncic did what the Lakers lean on him to do. He scored 41 with nine assists in 37 minutes, a few days after putting up 52 against Utah, and the team still lost. Austin Reaves worked 39 minutes and finished with 26 points. Sandro Mamukelashvili gave them 17 off the bench. But Walker Kessler, Ziaire Williams and Matisse Thybulle combined for 29 points as starters, and Portland's depth of scorers kept answering. The decisive answer came from Damian Lillard, healthy and back in the middle of things, who hit the late 3-pointer that swung the game. He finished with 21 points. His trade has a way of turning up in stories like this, and this one brought it full circle.

Los Angeles played without Cameron Carr (right oblique) and Adou Thiero (left knee), neither of whom has appeared this season. Their status matched the previous game's report. Oddsmakers had the Lakers as 2.5-point favorites with Portland at +120 on the moneyline, and the total was set at 235.5. The teams cleared that by a wide margin, 265 points in all, and the Blazers collected on the underdog side.

Sources

All game reports