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The LA Lakers cruised to 111-88 victory against the Portland Trail Blazers behind a dominant 31-point show by Anthony Davis. The Portland Trail Blazers were helpless against the Lakers' aggressive offense as they failed to make their shots.
With Damian Lillard dislocating his finger in the third quarter, none of the Portland Trail Blazers made it to 20 points and were completely dominated by the LA Lakers.
Without further ado, let us look at five talking points from Game 2 of the NBA Playoffs series between the Portland Trail Blazers and the LA Lakers.
#5 The LA Lakers' bench shows up
The LA Lakers won Game 2 against the Portland Trail Blazers handily with a dominant performance from their bench that played the perfect supporting role to their superstars. J.R. Smith played his first minutes in the playoffs this game and had 11 points with 3 three-pointers. Dwight Howard put up 9 points and 5 rebounds.
With the bench playing their part, LeBron James and Anthony Davis were free to take over the game. The bench contributing is a great sign for the LA Lakers, who have had a tough start in the NBA bubble. They will hope to carry the momentum forward in this series.
#4 Portland Trail Blazers' star CJ McCollum struggles to score
Portland Trail Blazers' star CJ McCollum had a bad shooting night and went 6-16 from the field en route to 13 points. He was able to score just 1 three-pointer off 5 attempts as the Blazers fell to the Lakers.
McCollum has been battling a back fracture throughout these playoffs and has yet performed admirably so far. His bad shooting night made it difficult for the Blazers to stage a comeback after Lillard left the game.
McCollum will look to put this game behind as the Portland Trail Blazers try to take the lead again in Game 3.
#3 The LA Lakers improve their three-point shooting
In Game 1, it was the LA Lakers' abysmal three-point shooting that lost them the game. They scored just 5 out of 32 three-point attempts and were under fire for their lack of outside scoring. They turned things around in this game, going 14-38 from beyond the arc.
Anthony Davis went 3-4 while Kentavious Caldwell-Pope made 4 of his 6 three-point attempts. J.R. Smith also made some great three-pointers off the bench. While Danny Green's struggles continued, the LA Lakers will take heart from their improved performance and hope to keep their three-point percentage high in coming games.
#2 Damian Lillard dislocates his finger during the game
Portland Trail Blazers' star Damian Lillard dislocated his left index finger while going for the ball in the third quarter. At that point, he had 18 points on 6-14 shooting in 30 minutes. Lillard did not return to play for the rest of the game.
This injury could very well alter the course of this series. Initial reports and X-ray scans indicate that there is no fracture and Lillard said after the game that he will be back for Game 3. The Portland Trail Blazers will hope that Lillard's shooting form will not be affected by this injury in this tough first-round series.
#1 Anthony Davis dominates on both ends of the floor
After his poor outing in Game 1, Anthony Davis turned things around with a monstrous 31-point, 11-rebound game on Thursday, playing just 29 minutes. He shot 3-4 from beyond the arc and was a beast in the paint.
Portland Trail Blazers big man Jusuf Nurkic was unable to get past Davis, and ended with just 9 points on the night. Davis' defense on Nurkic was key as the LA Lakers leveled the series 1-1.
Anthony Davis will have to continue with his dominant performances as the Lakers hope to get past the Blazers to the second round.
