LeBron, Lakers narrowly defeat Trailblazers in season debut
ABOVE: Despite just getting the Lakers, LeBron James knows how to do things Hollywood-style, catching a body in his first game.
PORTLAND, OR -- The new look Los Angeles Lakers, after a swirling off-season of change landed them the likes of Lance Stephenson, Michael Beasley, and of course, LeBron James, finally took the court against the Portland Trailblazers, narrowly winning their season opener 99-88.
James led the way with a 32-point effort, blasting through the Blazers' defense with a 21-point first quarter. He battled all night long with C.J. McCollum, who led all scorers with 35 points. Damian Lillard struggled initially, but found his way to 22 points.
The team will return home and launch their home campaign against James Harden and the Houston Rockets on October 20th.
| Los Angeles Lakers at Portland Trailblazers |
| Oct 18, 2018 | 1ST | 2ND | 3RD | 4TH | OT | SCORE |
| Los Angeles (1-0) | 31 | 18 | 25 | 25 | -- | 99 |
| Portland (0-1) | 22 | 18 | 22 | 26 | -- | 88 |
| Los Angeles Lakers |
| STARTERS | MIN | FGM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PTS |
| LeBron James | 23 | 13-20 | 0-0 | 6-8 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 32 |
| Kyle Kuzma | 26 | 8-11 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 16 |
| Lonzo Ball | 23 | 5-17 | 2-5 | 0-0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 12 |
| JaVale McGee | 26 | 4-5 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 8 |
| Josh Hart | 25 | 1-3 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| BENCH | MIN | FGM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PTS |
| Tyson Chandler | 14 | 5-7 | 0-0 | 1-3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 11 |
| Rajon Rondo | 15 | 3-9 | 0-2 | 2-2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 |
| Brandon Ingram | 14 | 3-3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Lance Stephenson | 13 | 2-3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Michael Beasley | 12 | 0-2 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| TEAM TOTALS | 44-80 | 2-11 | 9-13 | 47 | 21 | 4 | 9 | 7 | 99 |
| Portland Trailblazers |
| STARTERS | MIN | FGM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PTS |
| C.J. McCollum | 33 | 15-31 | 3-4 | 2-2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 35 |
| Damian Lillard | 27 | 9-18 | 4-11 | 0-0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 22 |
| Evan Turner | 26 | 4-8 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 |
| Jusuf Nurkic | 27 | 2-2 | 0-0 | 2-2 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 |
| Al-Farouq Aminu | 26 | 1-3 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| BENCH | MIN | FGM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PTS |
| Maurice Harkless | 14 | 2-5 | 0-0 | 2-3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| Zach Collins | 19 | 2-5 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Nik Stauskas | 13 | 1-4 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Jake Layman | 15 | 1-3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| TEAM TOTALS | 37-79 | 8-18 | 6-7 | 36 | 19 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 88 |