JJ Redick’s 3 words to describe the win over the 3-star Blazers
The The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Portland Trail Blazers 123-115 on Monday despite the fact that vwithout Luka Doncic, LeBron James and Austin Reeves. Los Angeles head coach JJ Redick offered a simple explanation of how short-handed his team is able to prevail.
“Trust. Belief. Bond,” Redick told Spectrum SportsNet after the game.
The Lakers got massive output from both centers Deandre Ayton and forward Rui Hachimura. Ayton had 29 points and 10 rebounds, while Hachimura had 28 points and four boards.
While both of those players were critical, Los Angeles guard Nick Smith Jr. may have had the most surprising performance of the night. The 21-year-old scored 25 points while shooting 10-of-15 from the field and 5-of-6 from distance.
“Just come together as a group, get a big win, especially with our best players,” Smith told ESPN’s Kevin Pelton. “Bron, Luka, AR, those guys do a lot for us. Just to have a win like this for the young guys and other players to progress like this is big for us.”
The Lakers have now won their last four contests and have adopted a mentality that could benefit them over the course of a long season.
“You have to sit there and blame guys like Jake LaRavia,” Ayton said. “He started this whole thing. You know, the next-man-up mentality. Show up, be on time and approach the game in a different way. JJ gave us opportunities like this when our guys are out and gave us freedom. You’ve got guys like Jake LaRavia and Nick Smith coming up.”
The Lakers are 6-2 on the season. They will host the San Antonio Spurs in Los Angeles on Wednesday night.
2025-11-04 15:47:00
