Lakers Beat Trail Blazers 124-118 as Doncic Scores 53

Luka Doncic scored 53 points and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Portland Trail Blazers 124-118 on Friday night, November 6, 2026, at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. The game was Emirates NBA Cup group play. Los Angeles trailed by as many as 16 points in the first half and still won, improving to 8-2 overall and 1-1 in NBA Cup play. Portland dropped to 6-2 in its first game of the in-season tournament.

Portland started faster. The Trail Blazers led 29-20 after the first quarter and pushed the lead to 16 in the first half. Los Angeles missed its first 15 three-point attempts. Doncic cut into the deficit just before halftime when he banked in a 61-foot buzzer-beating heave. The shot trimmed Portland's lead to 60-53 at the break and gave the home crowd a lift after a poor shooting start.

Doncic takes over the third quarter

Doncic scored 20 points in the third quarter. Portland scored 15 points as a team in the same quarter. Los Angeles outscored Portland 34-15 in the period and took control of the game. Doncic finished with 53 points in 38 minutes and 9 seconds. He shot 17 of 33 from the field, 5 of 15 on three-pointers and 14 of 18 from the free throw line. He added 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 steal, and Los Angeles outscored Portland by 16 points while he was on the floor.

The game marked another milestone in a strong start to the season. Doncic is the first Laker to reach the 40-point mark in four straight games since Kobe Bryant in 2012. He has now scored at least 40 points in six games in the 2026-27 season.

Austin Reaves scored 25 points for Los Angeles on 8 of 22 shooting and 8 of 8 free throws. Walker Kessler added 16 points and 12 rebounds. Their support mattered in the fourth quarter, when Portland scored 43 points and kept pressing. Los Angeles scored 37 points in the fourth and held on for the six-point win. The quarter scores were Lakers 20, 33, 34 and 37, and Trail Blazers 29, 31, 15 and 43.

Portland fights back late

Deni Avdija led Portland with 22 points, 9 rebounds and 11 assists. Damian Lillard also scored 22 points. Toumani Camara scored 18 points, and Donovan Clingan had 17 points and 11 rebounds. Portland shot well from long range, making 19 of 43 three-pointers against 11 of 37 for Los Angeles.

Turnovers decided much of the night. Portland committed 24 turnovers to 11 for Los Angeles. The Lakers also led points in the paint 52 to 32. Both teams held a biggest lead of 16 points at different stages, Portland early and Los Angeles after the third-quarter run.

Attendance was 19,057 at Crypto.com Arena. The game was shown on Amazon Prime Video in the United States. For Los Angeles, the result was a comeback win built on one dominant quarter from its star. For Portland, it was a first NBA Cup loss after a strong start that the team could not protect.