Luka Doncic scores 53 points as Lakers rally past Trail Blazers

Luka Dončić scored a season-high 53 points as the Los Angeles Lakers came back to beat the Portland Trail Blazers 124-118 in Los Angeles on Friday. The win extended his remarkable scoring run and lifted the Lakers to 8-2, keeping them among the early-season frontrunners.

The Lakers missed their first 15 three-point attempts and made only three of 23 from beyond the arc before Dončić banked in a 61-foot buzzer-beater to end the first half, when they trailed 60-53. They turned the game around with a 34-15 third quarter, during which Dončić scored 20 points; he also had five assists and five rebounds. It was his seventh consecutive game with at least 35 points and fourth in a row with at least 40, while Austin Reaves scored 25 and the Lakers moved to 1-1 in NBA Cup group play.