The Portland Trail Blazers had started the season by proving themselves a hugely entertaining team. Against two lightweight opponents in Phoenix and Sacramento, Micah Nori’s side turned in two superb offensive performances that confirmed the gamble on Ja Morant gives them the resources to become a very attractive side to watch.
And in the early hours of this morning in Los Angeles, they showed it can also be a winning formula.
The Oregon side picked up their third win in three games by beating the Lakers 136-129, handing Redick’s team their first defeat and remaining one of the four teams yet to taste defeat this year. Despite doubts over the team’s balance, for now it seems the new pieces fit into the group. Because what they may have lost in one area, they are certainly more than making up for in the other.
Everything flows
After a season in which their offensive limitations were their Achilles’ heel, things have changed radically in Portland. And while the return of Damian Lillard undeniably has a lot to do with it, Ja Morant is starting to establish himself as the difference-maker. The former Grizzlies man has fitted like a glove into an attack that seems to want to live off his ability and Avdija’s to break the perimeter defence, get into the paint and create from there, and in the early hours of this morning he once again gave a lesson in how to make the team run to perfection.
His 23 points and 4 assists are not necessarily the most impressive numbers, but his impact from start to finish was more than notable. Perhaps we don’t see in him the explosiveness of his early days in Memphis, but we do see a calm, a patience and an ability to read the game once he gets close to the rim that helps his team not only create advantages but exploit them by getting the ball moving. Something that, with such efficient shooters around him, can only mean plenty of points.
It certainly did this morning, as the Blazers hit 18 of the 36 three-pointers they attempted and ended up taking Los Angeles by sheer bombardment. Toumani Camara, increasingly established as a specialist, went 4/5, Avdija, who like Ja went up to 23 points, scored as many, and Lillard did likewise, including the shot that made it 135-129 in the final minute and left the game all but decided.
DAME SEALS IT FOR PORTLAND. BLAZERS MOVE TO 3-0 ON THE SEASON ‼️ https://t.co/Mph4pmryKr
— NBA (@NBA) October 28, 2026
So, on the back of outside shooting, plenty of speed and constant one-on-one or semi-transition drives, Portland finished with 136 points on a night when they missed as many as 15 free throws (26/41). That speaks in part to how much these Lakers have to improve at the back, but above all it confirms the Oregon side as the team with the best attack at the start of the season. Because sometimes fun and effectiveness can go hand in hand.