Damian Lillard scored 41 points, Jerami Grant made a driving layup with three seconds left, and the unbeaten Portland Trail Blazers kept the Los Angeles Lakers winless under new coach Darvin Ham with a 106-104 victory Sunday.
Portland trailed 102-95 with 1:56 to play but ended the game on an 11-2 run and won it when LeBron James missed a 17-footer at the buzzer.
Lillard carried the Blazers for long stretches, scoring 12 points in the final 5:06 before Grant finished it. After missing the final 47 games last season with injuries, Lillard has scored 41 points in Portland’s second and third games of the new season. He also continued his longtime domination of the Lakers, improving his career average of 28 points per game.
James had 31 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists, while Davis finished with 22 points, ten rebounds and six blocked shots for the Lakers (0-3).
Lonnie Walker scored 15 points, and Westbrook had 10 for Los Angeles. Westbrook said he took his remarkably early jumper in the final minute as a 2-for-1 to ensure the Lakers would get the final possession.
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