The highly-anticipated Los Angeles Lakers debut of LeBron James ultimately ended in defeat at the hands of the Portland Trailblazers. Nonetheless, from a statistical standpoint, it wasn't all that bad, as James was able to tie Hall of Famer Larry Bird's all-time record for the most 25-10-5 games in the history of the NBA.
LeBron James now has 172 career games with at least 25 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists, tying Larry Bird for the most such games since the ABA-NBA merger. pic.twitter.com/8oRYfsoymS
— Justin Kubatko (@jkubatko) October 19, 2018
LeBron tallied 26 points, 12 rebounds, and six assists on the evening, bringing up his total 25-10-5 tally to 172 games. James is now tied at first all-time with Boston Celtics legend Bird, and will likely be on solo pole position sooner rather than later.
LeBron James was his usual efficient self knocking down nine of his 16 total field goal attempts. He also only missed one free throw in nine tries, but went 0-for-4 from beyond the arc. James also turned the ball over six times on the evening.
Brandon Ingram played well in the opener with 16 points, four rebounds, one assist, two steals, and two blocks. Josh Hart and Kyle Kuzma, who both came off the bench, were also impressive, scoring 20 and 15 points, respectively. Starting point guard Rajon Rondo produced a 13-point, 11-assist double-double.
It was a close game throughout, but the Blazers rallied in the fourth and eventually notched their first victory of the new campaign with a final scoreline of 128-119.
Despite the defeat, LeBron James looked good in his first game for the Purple and Gold. There will be some growing pains along the way, but with arguably the best player on the planet on your team, things are only looking up for the Lakers.
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