Damian Lillard double-doubled on Friday night’s game with 48 points (17/30 FG, 7/12 3PT, 7/8 FT including 23 points in the third quarter alone), nine boards and 10 assists, adding two steals and one turnover in 40 minutes of action in the Portland Trail Blazers’ 127-119 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center. Hassan Whiteside added 30 points (13/14 FG), 13 rebounds and five blocks. The Blazers, who have won 6 of their last 9 games, improved to 22-27, whereas the Lakers dropped to 36-11.
“It was hard. I think everybody had a lot of emotions coming in, and then the videos, the music, it was just one of those moments. One of our legends, icons of the world, not just our game, passing away, really tough night. I think the game started off slow because of that. It’s hard to be excited about the game when you have this type of situation,” Lillard said, per Yahoo Sports.
