We Speak NBA

Balanced Blazers Stay Perfect, Beat Lakers 136-129 Despite Doncic’s 41

Published

58 minutes ago

October 28, 2026

Portland Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija handles the ball against the Los Angeles Lakers on Oct. 27, 2026 in Los Angeles

Deni Avdija registered 23 points and nine assists and Ja Morant also scored 23 points to help the balanced Portland Trail Blazers post a 136-129 victory over the host Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena.

Jrue Holiday added 22 points off the bench and Damian Lillard notched 21 as Portland (3-0) won its third straight game to open the season, its second 3-0 start in the last 15 years. Robert Williams III had 14 points and 10 rebounds and Toumani Camara added 12 points for the Trail Blazers, who shot 59 percent overall and hit 18 of 36 shots from behind the arc; Avdija, Lillard and Camara each drained four 3-pointers.

Luka Doncic recorded 41 points and nine assists for the Lakers (3-1) two days after he scored 52 points against the Utah Jazz. Austin Reaves added 26 points and seven assists, Sandro Mamukelashvili scored 17 and Walker Kessler had 13 as Los Angeles lost for the first time this season despite shooting 56.2 percent from the field.

The Lakers led 73-68 at halftime and 103-102 after three quarters. Portland led 128-124 after Avdija connected on a 3-pointer with 2:59 remaining, and Ziaire Williams hit a trey for the Lakers 23 seconds later to make it a one-point game. Morant hit midrange jumpers on consecutive possessions to put Portland up 132-129, and Lillard buried his fourth 3-pointer with 43.1 seconds left to clinch the win before Holiday split two free throws to close it out.

The Trail Blazers host Memphis on Thursday, and the Lakers visit the Clippers on Wednesday.

We Speak NBA

NBA Fines Lakers’ Ziaire Williams $2,000 for Flopping Against Jazz

Published

57 minutes ago

October 28, 2026

We Speak Media

Utah Jazz forward Ace Bailey dunks against the Los Angeles Lakers on Oct. 25, 2026 at Delta Center in Salt Lake City

The NBA has fined Los Angeles Lakers forward Ziaire Williams $2,000 for flopping during Sunday’s 132-123 comeback win over the Utah Jazz, the league announced Monday.

The incident occurred with 4:44 remaining in the fourth quarter at Delta Center, with the Lakers trailing 114-113. Williams exaggerated contact from Jazz guard Keyonte George during George’s drive to the basket, and George was called for an offensive foul on the play. Upon league office review after the game, Williams was assessed the postgame flopping fine. Flopping is among the NBA’s Areas of Focus for the 2026-27 season.

Williams finished the game with 11 points. He is the first Lakers player fined this season and the third player assessed a postgame flopping fine in the first week of the season, joining Boston’s Paul George and Milwaukee’s Kasparas Jakucionis, who has been fined twice.

Asked about the ruling on Tuesday, Williams said he does not necessarily agree with it and that he has asked his agent to look into an appeal. “I’ll pay my fine and if I got to flop again to get a win, then that’s what I’ll do,” Williams said. “I thought it was a good defensive play.”

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