NBA, 6 November: Lakers beat Trail Blazers 124–118

Luka Doncic scored 53 points as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Portland Trail Blazers 124–118 in NBA Cup group play on 6 November. The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Philadelphia 76ers 119–95, ending Philadelphia’s five-game winning streak, though another ESPN account gave the score as 119–96. It was LeBron James’s first game in Cleveland since he chose Philadelphia in offseason free agency.

James scored eight points on 3-for-12 shooting and committed six turnovers. Center Joel Embiid scored six points and missed all nine of his shots from the floor.

According to ESPN, James and Embiid became the third duo of former NBA Most Valuable Players to each score in single digits and shoot 25% or worse from the field in the same game.

James’s 396-game streak of scoring at least 10 points in Cleveland ended. His previous game there below that mark was on 29 December 2004. ESPN observed that James struggled to get past Cleveland’s defenders. James said he lacked offensive rhythm and had committed too many turnovers.

Doncic leads Lakers comeback

Luka Doncic scored a season-high 53 points as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Portland Trail Blazers 124–118 at home. His 62-foot shot at the halftime buzzer helped the Lakers come back, ESPN said.

Doncic averaged 40.1 points over his first nine games of the season, with 361 points in total. ESPN Research said Wilt Chamberlain is the only player to score more through the first nine games of a season: he had 472 in 1962–63 and 455 in 1961–62. No player has averaged at least 40 points for a full season since Chamberlain in 1962–63.

For completed seasons, ESPN cited Michael Jordan’s 37.1 points per game in 1986–87, the NBA’s highest average in the three-point era; James Harden’s 36.1 in 2018–19, the highest of the 21st century; and Kobe Bryant’s 35.4, the highest by a Lakers player since the 1976 NBA–ABA merger.