With Luka Doncic out, LeBron James and Austin Reaves lead Lakers past Portland

Dan Woike, Los Angeles Times on Feb 21, 2025

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PORTLAND, Ore. — The Los Angeles Lakers are looking for answers when it comes to maximizing their star trio. For the star duo of LeBron James and Austin Reaves, things were a little less cluttered Thursday night as the pair took turns dragging the Lakers to a much-needed win after awful back-to-back losses.

James and Reaves made the biggest shots, got the biggest stops and, on a night when they didn’t have Luka Doncic, pushed the Lakers to a 110-102 win against the Portland Trail Blazers.

James scored 40 on the second night of a back-to-back and Reaves added 32, both players getting key stops as Portland (23-33) pushed in the fourth quarter.

The version of the Lakers that will finish this season is nowhere close to being decided. The team is stuck between the version that worked its way to 10 games above .500 and the one they committed to when they traded Anthony Davis and Max Christie for Doncic.

Doncic, who has played in three games since Christmas, is expected to play for the Lakers in back-to-backs moving forward, with Lakers coach JJ Redick saying the team is just being cautious in his return from a calf strain.

“Speaking with him Tuesday night after practice, we sat down together. He’s all in,” Redick said of Doncic. “He’s the mental part of the shock and everything, he’s in a really good place. And now we’ve got to get him physically where he needs to be to be Luka.”

He and Jarred Vanderbilt are on track to play for the Lakers on Saturday in Denver.

The Lakers (33-21) are still waiting for Doncic to get into some kind of rhythm after his extended absence, though Redick said the Lakers are focused on finding ways for James, Reaves and Doncic to shine together.

“It’s all of us. It’s not just the staff. It’s the players too. It’s them and us working together to find the balance to allow our three best players to be at their best,” Redick said. “You’ve seen this happen a million times in the NBA. It doesn’t happen in three games. It might not happen in three months. That’s just the reality of how these things work. We’re all committed to making it work. I think we can all be a little more organized.”