As the Lakers end the 7 year drought of not having a playoff game, the shooting drought they were in, they decided to stay in it starting in the first quarter as the Blazers end the quarter 36-25 while Damian Lillard put up 15 points and Nurkic adds 10 points.
Anthony Davis had a rough first quarter not being able to score the ball as he shot 1-8 with 9 points and 4 rebounds in 12 mins. Give credit to the Blazers defense collapsing on Davis on the post and get him to make bad decisions. LeBron James tried to get everyone involved as they started the quarter but of course the Lakers weren’t able to capitalize on making shots which put them down early as Game 1 of the West First Round began. During the second quarter the Lakers started hitting the three point shot with Danny Green and Markieff Morris joining the party. Lakers put up a great run early in the second quarter cutting down the lead to 2 and making the Blazers call a time out with 8:27 remaining in the first half. LeBron has 10 points 6 assists and 5 rebounds in 11 minutes as he seems to be rolling and turning on the switch to Playoff LeBron.
As Damian Lillard checked back in to the game, so does Kyle Kuzma with 3 points on 1-3 shooting in the first 8 minutes of his Playoffs debut. Anthony Davis also checks back in with 7 minutes remaining in the first half after struggling so far. Dwight Howard seem to be fired up by playing in this game as he was part of the Lakers team in 2013 that made the last Lakers Playoffs appearance. While Lillard continued his great shooting, the Lakers have not yet figured out how to control Damian Lillard. Towards the end of the first half, it seems like the refs are not gonna let anyone get away with a foul as Anthony Davis shot his 13th free throw with 3 mins remaining in the first half.
Going into the 3rd quarter with the Lakers down by 1, both teams played well with LeBron getting his 24th career playoff triple double in the 3rd quarter! He has been playing remarkable and doing everything in his power to keep the Lakers within reach. LeBron is shooting 6-15 from the field through the 3rd quarter. The Lakers were successful on a challenge that was turned around on a blocking foul by LeBron to a charge on Nurkic. Both teams tied at 78 with 8:53 remaining in Game 1 of the Western Conference First Round Playoffs.
Dame (34 PTS & 6 3PM) put on a show to help the Blazers win Game 1 ⌚️ pic.twitter.com/m3U34pqq5B
— NBA TV (@NBATV) August 19, 2020
Damian Lillard has been the talk of the NBA in the last few weeks but in his first playoff game this year, he is currently struggling shooting 6-16 from the field as the Lakers made halftime adjustments as Lakers Coach Frank Vogel is known for being a 2nd half team. Kyle Kuzma has been making his mark in this NBA Bubble as I been noticing the changes he’s been doing to his game since the last time we’ve seen him on the court in March.
Lakers are outscoring the Blazers bench 25-11 so far through 3 1/2 quarters with Dwight Howard being a difference maker on both sides of the ball. CJ McCollum began making shots for the Blazers when they needed him most, adding 21 points thus far through the 4th quarter. As we come down to crunch time Anthony Davis and LeBron James both miss 2 free throws each which could have put them up 2 but didn’t capitalize. Damian Lillard is becoming the new Steph Curry of the league shooting from the Logo and making his shots. He’s at 34 points with 2:51 remaining in the ball game and continues to make his name shine on the biggest stage of all. While the Lakers seem to lose they’re edge towards the end of the game, allowed the Blazers to make some shots when it matter and finished the Lakers off in Game 1. Blazers lead the series as they crush LeBron’s big night with 23 points 17 rebounds and 16 assists. Damian Lillard finished with 34 points 5 rebounds and 5 assists.
LeBron James is the first player in #NBAPlayoffs history to record 20+ PTS, 15+ REB, and 15+ AST in a game. pic.twitter.com/r0oIf49b7Q
— NBA.com/Stats (@nbastats) August 19, 2020
Game 2 of the West First Round between the Blazers and Lakers will be taking place Thursday 9ET/6PT on TNT.
Stay updated with Fredo Cervantes and tune in LIVE every Sunday at 7:30PT on In The Front Row Show!
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