Unheralded Nick Smith Jr led the injury-depleted Los Angeles Lakers to an upset road victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.
Published On 4 Nov 2025
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Deandre Ayton, Rui Hachimura and Nick Smith Jr all achieved season-best point totals as the short-handed Los Angeles Lakers notched a 123-115 victory over the hosts Portland Trail Blazers on Monday night.
Ayton had 29 points on 14-of-19 shooting and collected 10 rebounds and three blocked shots against his former teammates.
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Hachimura had 28 points on 10-of-15 shooting.
Little-known guard Smith was the biggest surprise with 25 points on 10-of-15 shooting, including 5 of 6 from 3-point range. He added a season-best six assists as the Lakers won their fourth consecutive contest.
Los Angeles held out stars Luka Doncic (leg contusion) and Austin Reaves (groin soreness) on the second night of a back-to-back. Also, LeBron James (sciatica), the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, has yet to play this season.
Smith was not active for Los Angeles’ Sunday victory over the Miami Heat, but the absences of Doncic and Reaves got him into the rotation on Monday, and he stood out in nearly 27 minutes off the bench. He scored 10 points in the fourth quarter.
Los Angeles guard Nick Smith Jr (#20) was the closer for the Lakers in the fourth quarter [Amanda Loman/AP Photo]
Deni Avdija scored a season-best 33 points for Portland, which had a three-game winning streak snapped. Shaedon Sharpe added 23 points and seven rebounds, reserve Jerami Grant scored 18 points and Toumani Camara had 14 points and seven rebounds.
Los Angeles shot a sizzling 58.8 percent from the field, including 9 of 23 (39.1 percent) from 3-point range. Jake LaRavia added 11 points for the Lakers.
The Lakers led by four before LaRavia scored on the inside with 3:32 remaining to start a 10-0 burst. Smith drained two 3-pointers in 26 seconds to give the Lakers a 117-105 lead and then fed Ayton for a layup to increase the margin to 14 with 2:08 to play as Los Angeles closed it out.
The Trail Blazers made 49.4 percent of their shots and were a shaky 9 of 40 (22.5 percent) from behind the arc.
Portland opened the third quarter with a 12-4 run to hold a nine-point advantage.
The Lakers responded with a 19-4 surge and moved ahead 75-69 on a tip-in by Jaxson Hayes with 5:08 left in the quarter.
A dunk by Hayes made it 84-77 with 2:26 remaining in the third before the Trail Blazers cut their deficit to 90-86 entering the final stanza.
Avdija scored 14 first-half points as Portland led 53-52 at the break. Hachimura put up 18 points in the half for the Lakers.
