The Portland Trail Blazers walk into Los Angeles tonight with a spotless record and a real test waiting on the other side. They finish off their California road swing against Luka Doncic and the 3-0 Lakers, in what shapes up as the toughest matchup either team has seen so far and the first of four meetings this season.
It’s also Portland’s first nationally televised game of the 2026-27 season, with an 8 p.m. tip-off on NBC.
The Blazers have opened 2-0 with a pair of wins that look even better in the early going: a 41-point rout of the Phoenix Suns and a victory over the Sacramento Kings. The Lakers, meanwhile, have stacked up wins against the Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Clippers and Utah Jazz to get to 3-0.
Portland’s offense has been driven by Deni Avdija and Damian Lillard, who are both averaging 22 points per game. Avdija has added 8.5 rebounds and five assists a night, while Lillard is chipping in four rebounds and four assists. Toumani Camara has given the Blazers another lift, sitting at 18.5 points per game while shooting 52.9 percent from 3-point range.
Newcomer Ja Morant has brought his own production, averaging 13 points, four rebounds, 7.5 assists and two steals. Donovan Clingan has also been steady in the middle, putting up 9.5 points, nine rebounds and 1.5 blocks despite playing just over 20 minutes a game.
For Los Angeles, the whole picture starts with Doncic, who is coming off a 52-point double-double against Utah and leads the team at 34.3 points, 7.3 rebounds and eight assists per game. Austin Reaves follows at 26.7 points, 2.3 rebounds and 6.3 assists per contest. Walker Kessler, acquired in the summer, has anchored the front line with 16.7 points, eight rebounds, 1.3 assists and three blocks.
The Lakers have also gotten production from Ziaire Williams, who is averaging 11.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists while shooting 52.2 percent from the field and 41.7 percent from deep. Former Blazer Matisse Thybulle rounds out the starting group with nine points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game, and he’s hitting 46.7 percent from 3-point range.
Portland took the season series last year, 2-1, while Los Angeles holds the edge in the all-time matchup at 134-117.
There’s familiar territory on both benches. Thybulle is the latest Blazers tie on the Lakers side, but the biggest one is associate head coach Nate McMillan, who coached Portland from 2005-12 and posted a 266-269 record in 535 games while guiding the Blazers to three straight playoff trips from 2009-11.
Lakers assistant Scott Brooks also spent years with Portland from 2021-24 and coached Avdija for one season with the Washington Wizards in 2020-21. Portland assistant Quinton Crawford won a title with the Lakers in 2020 and worked in Los Angeles from 2019-22.
A few more connections add to the thread between the teams. Morant was teammates with Ziaire Williams and Jake Laravia in Memphis.
JJ Redick and Jrue Holiday were teammates on the New Orleans Pelicans during the 2019-20 season. And Portland assistant Jay Triano was selected by the Lakers in the eighth round of the 1981 NBA Draft.
Portland listed four players as officially out Wednesday morning. Shaedon Sharpe remains sidelined with a torn right meniscus, while Jayson Kent, Chris Youngblood and John Tonje are with the Rip City Remix. Branden Carlson is questionable because of concussion protocol, and Scoot Henderson is questionable with left ankle soreness.
In Other News...
Blazers Sent A Message By Outmuscling Luka And The Lakers
The Trail Blazers did more than survive a shootout with the Lakers, they won the physical side of it. Portland's 136-129 victory came even with Luka Doncic pouring in 41 points and Austin Reaves adding 26, because the Blazers kept answering at the other end and repeatedly turned the game into a test of shot-making, effort and presence on the glass.
What stood out for Portland was not just the scoring, but the way it controlled the margins that usually decide games like this. The Blazers shot better, got to the line more often and won the rebounding battle, a combination that let them absorb the Lakers' firepower and still finish on top in a game that was never short on offense. [Read more 🡒]
Blazers Exposed A Big Lakers Problem Even On Lukas Night
Luka Doncic gave the Lakers exactly the sort of explosive scoring night they hoped for, piling up 40 points against the Trail Blazers and adding another entry to a growing list of big performances in Los Angeles. It was his 20th career 40-point game for the Lakers, pushing him past LeBron James for sixth on the franchises all-time list in that category, a notable marker even in a loss.
But Portland still walked away with a 136-129 win, which is the part that should linger for the Lakers. When one of the leagues most dangerous scorers can post a night like that and it still isnt enough, it points to how much the rest of the roster has to hold up around him. For the Blazers, it was a reminder that they can absorb a star outburst and still find a way to finish the job. [Read more 🡒]
Blazers May Have Avoided A Giannis Problem Miami Couldn't
Giannis Antetokounmpo briefly loomed as an offseason possibility for the Trail Blazers, but Portland never got to the finish line on a deal. His hesitation about a long-term commitment and preference to stay in the Eastern Conference helped shape that outcome, along with a desire to keep his championship pursuit aligned with staying closer to Greece. For a Blazers team trying to map out its next era, it was the kind of star swing that could have changed the franchises direction overnight.
Miami is now living with the realities of that kind of move after landing Giannis, and the opening stretch has not exactly looked like the instant contender blueprint the Heat hoped for. A poor start has already raised questions about how quickly the roster can support a title push, which only adds another layer to Portlands what-if. The Blazers may not have landed the biggest name in the conversation, but they also avoided the immediate pressure that comes with trying to make a championship timeline work from day one. [Read more 🡒]