Nick Smith Jr, Lakers stun Blazers without injured James, Doncic and Reaves

Deandre Ayton, Rui Hachimura and Nick Smith Jr all achieved season-best point totals as the short-handed Los Angeles Lakers notched a 123-115 victory over the hosts Portland Trail Blazers on Monday night.

Ayton had 29 points on 14-of-19 shooting and collected 10 rebounds and three blocked shots against his former teammates.

Hachimura had 28 points on 10-of-15 shooting.

Little-known guard Smith was the biggest surprise with 25 points on 10-of-15 shooting, including 5 of 6 from 3-point range. He added a season-best six assists as the Lakers won their fourth consecutive contest.

Los Angeles held out stars Luka Doncic (leg contusion) and Austin Reaves (groin soreness) on the second night of a back-to-back. Also, LeBron James (sciatica), the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, has yet to play this season.

Smith was not active for Los Angeles ‘ Sunday victory over the Miami Heat, but the absences of Doncic and Reaves got him into the rotation on Monday, and he stood out in nearly 27 minutes off the bench. He scored 10 points in the fourth quarter.

Deni Avdija scored a season-best 33 points for Portland, which had a three-game winning streak snapped. Shaedon Sharpe added 23 points and seven rebounds, reserve Jerami Grant scored 18 points and Toumani Camara had 14 points and seven rebounds.

Los Angeles shot a sizzling 58.8 percent from the field, including 9 of 23 (39.1 percent) from 3-point range. Jake LaRavia added 11 points for the Lakers.

The Lakers led by four before LaRavia scored on the inside with 3: 32 remaining to start a 10-0 burst. With 2:08 left, Los Angeles closed the game out with two 3-pointers, Smith drained two 3-pointers in 26 seconds to give the Lakers a 117-105 lead before feeding Ayton with a layup to make it 14 points.

The Trail Blazers shot 49% of their shots from behind the arc, and they were a shaky 9 of 40% (22%) from behind the arc.

Portland held a nine-point lead into the third quarter with a 12-4 run.

With 5: 08 left in the quarter, the Lakers responded with a 19-4 surge that gave them a 75-69 lead.

With 226 remaining in the third period, the Trail Blazers cut their deficit to 90-86 in the final stanza with a dunk from Hayes.