Los Angeles -- The Portland Trail Blazers' early-season resume includes impressive victories over the Milwaukee Bucks, Boston Celtics, L.A. Clippers and Indiana Pacers.
They've even exacted a little revenge against the New Orleans Pelicans.
But one team has put a small asterisk on the Blazers' hot start to the season: The Los Angeles Lakers.
The Lakers beat the Blazers for the second time this season on Wednesday night at the Staples Center, riding a sensational individual performance from LeBron James to a 126-117 victory before a sellout crowd.
James fell one assist short of a triple-double and passed Wilt Chamberlain on the NBA's all-time scoring list in a game in which he both dazzled and dominated. The three-time MVP finished with 44 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists and three blocks on a night the crowd serenaded him with "MVP" chants.
And the chants were certainly worthy. James put on a show. He tossed behind-the-back backdoor passes to Kyle Kuzma, alley-oops to JaVale McGee, completed thunderous driving dunks, had an incredible block on a Nik Stauskas dunk attempt and hit momentum-building back-to-back threes to end the first half.
By the end of the night, James had hit 13 of 19 shots, including 5 of 6 three-pointers, and had the Staples Center roaring as the Lakers (8-6) ended the Blazers' four-game winning streak.
"He's a helluva a player," Jusuf Nurkic said.
TOP PERFORMERS
Damian Lillard recorded 31 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds and Nurkic added 21 points, 14 rebounds, four blocks and three steals in a losing effort for the Blazers (10-4).
McGee added 20 points and Brandon Ingram had 17 points and four assists for the Lakers.
IT WAS OVER WHEN
James completed a running floater over Jake Layman with 3:55 left that was both historic and backbreaking. James was fouled on the shot and nailed the ensuing free throw, giving the Lakers a 121-106 lead and enough cushion to all-but end the game. It was also on that play that James made history, passing Chamberlain (31,419 career points) for fifth place on the all-time scoring list. James now 31,425 career points.
CURRY INJURES KNEE
Seth Curry suffered a right knee injury during the first half, did not return after halftime and left the Blazers' postgame locker room to undergo magnetic imaging testing. It's unclear what his status is for the rest of the Blazers' trip.
Curry left for his MRI just as he was about to speak to reporters, so it was not immediately clear exactly when or how he hurt his knee. But he left the game with 5:56 remaining in the first half and did not play again.
The Blazers' backup guard went scoreless, missing his only field goal attempt, and recorded one rebound in nearly eight minutes. He entered the game averaging 5.2 points and 1.4 assists.
THEY SAID IT
"It was a dominant performance," Blazers coach Terry Stotts said of James. "Nineteen shots and 44 points. You don't see that very often. Almost a triple-double. When he's making his threes and then putting his head down, it's tough to guard."
COLD FINISH TO FIRST HALF
The Blazers opened the game strong, but started to lose an early edge at the end of the first half.
After Al-Farouq Aminu hit a three-pointer with 6:29 left in the second quarter, the Blazers led 45-32 and appeared to be cruising toward another easy victory. But things unraveled heading into halftime.
The Lakers outscored the Blazers 24-10 from there, closing the half with a 13-2 run. James punctuated the game-changing blitz with back-to-back three-pointers to close the half, swishing a 28-footer with 26 seconds left and then nailing another three over Aminu with 1.7 seconds left. The shots gave the Lakers a 59-55 halftime lead.
"Those two threes he hit at the end of the first half really gave them a lot of momentum," Stotts said. "I think they gave him a lot of confidence. You've got to pick your poison. Him going downhill and involving his teammates, that's not necessarily a good alternative."
FAMILIAR FOE
In an odd scheduling twist, the Blazers and Lakers faced each other for the third time in 14 games Wednesday night.
The teams first met opening night in Portland, with the Blazers winning 128-119 to spoil James' Lakers debut. Then they played again 16 days later, with the Lakers beating the Blazers 114-110 to hand them their first blemish in November.
So they were all too familiar with each other before tipoff Wednesday,
"Teams evolve during the course of a season," Stotts said. "I don't know how much they evolve over the course of three weeks."
How did Stotts feel about the scheduling glitch?
"Probably not a fan of it," he said Wednesday, during his pregame meeting with reporters. "If I had my druthers, I'd rather spread (the games) out."
The good news? The teams don't play again until April 9, when the Blazers' visit Los Angeles in the second-to-last game of the season.
NEXT UP
Wednesday's game was the first of a six-game trip for the Blazers. It continues Friday with a matchup at the Minnesota Timberwolves at 5 p.m. at Target Center. The Blazers defeated the Timberwolves 111-81 Nov. 4 in Portland.
Joe Freeman | jfreeman@oregonian.com | 503-294-5183 | @BlazerFreeman
