Damian Lillard leads Trail Blazers to win over Lakers, Nikola Jokic stars for Nuggets against Rockets: NBA round-up

The Portland Trail Blazers recovered from a slow start to beat NBA champions Los Angeles Lakers 115-107, with Damian Lillard leading the way with 31 points on Monday night. Gary Trent Jr came off the bench to score 28, converting 10 of 14 shots, including 7 of 11 from 3-point range. Lillard hit half of his 10 3-point attempts. CJ McCollum contributed 20 points and 11 assists for Portland. Enes Kanter collected 12 points and 14 rebounds while Jusuf Nurkic added 10 points and 12 boards. LeBron James had 29 points, nine rebounds and six assists for the Lakers, who were playing for the second time in as many nights. Dennis Schroder had 24 points, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 14 and Anthony Davis, who returned from a one-game absence caused by a calf injury, finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Montrezl Harrell's short jumper gave the Lakers a 99-98 lead with 5:34 remaining, but the Blazers took over down the stretch. A 15-6 run allowed them to go up 113-105 after Nurkic scored on a drive with 1:36 left. After two free throws by James sliced the margin to six, Nurkic sank a mid-range jumper to seal the win with 20 seconds left. The Lakers raced out to a 13-point advantage in the first quarter before the Blazers rallied in the second. Portland rode a 12-0 run to a 34-30 edge after a 3-pointer by McCollum less than three minutes into the period. Portland led by as much as eight before taking a 58-54 lead into the break. The Blazers outscored the Lakers 36-24 in the second quarter. Trent led all scorers in the first half with 16 points. Los Angeles, which opened the third quarter on a 15-3 surge before Portland rallied, was on top 85-84 heading into the fourth quarter. Portland played without forward Carmelo Anthony, who didn't make the trip because of the NBA's health and safety protocols relating to the COVID-19 pandemic. Lakers reserve guard Alex Caruso missed the contest for the same reason. Nikola Jokic had 19 points, 18 assists and 12 rebounds, Jamal Murray scored 21 points and the host Denver Nuggets beat the short-handed Houston Rockets 124-111. Jokic eclipsed his previous career high of 17 assists. He finished with his 43rd career triple-double to tie Fat Lever for the franchise record. Paul Millsap also scored 19 points, Michael Porter Jr. had 14 points and nine rebounds, Gary Harris had 14 points, Monte Morris added 12 and Will Barton scored 11 to give Denver seven players in double figures. James Harden had 34 points, eight assists and six rebounds, Christian Wood scored 23, David Nwaba had 14 and Sterling Brown scored 12 for Houston, which has dropped its first two games after having its opener postponed due to Covid-19 issues. Trae Young scored 29 points and shot 15-for-15 at the foul line to help the Atlanta Hawks turn aside Detroit's comeback attempt and defeat the visiting Pistons 128-120. Atlanta led 115-91 with 7:43 left before Detroit scored 15 consecutive points. The Pistons got as close as five when Jerami Grant made a 3-pointer with 1:05 left. However, the Hawks finished the game perfectly from the free-throw line, with Young going 4-for-4 and John Collins going 2-for-2 to prevent the Pistons from getting any closer. Atlanta are off to their first 3-0 start since the 2016-17 season. Detroit is 0-3 for the first time since 2014-15. The Hawks broke a two-game losing head-to-head losing streak against the Pistons and snapped a three-game skid against Detroit in Atlanta. The Memphis Grizzlies' first win of the NBA season was a costly one, as Rookie of the Year Ja Morant limped out with a sprained ankle in the first half of a 116-111 overtime triumph over the shorthanded Brooklyn Nets. Morant rose to block a shot by Brooklyn forward Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot with less than three minutes remaining in the first half, rolling his ankle as he came down and hopping to the baseline where he fell to the court. He was taken to the locker room in a wheelchair, with the Grizzlies tweeting that the initial diagnosis was a sprained left ankle. Morant watched from the sidelines as the Grizzlies rallied for the victory, standing through the final minutes – a protective boot on his injured ankle. Kyle Anderson led the Grizzlies with 28 points – with a career-best four three-pointers – and Dillon Brooks added 24. Donovan Mitchell, who struggled with his shot through much of the game, sank the winning basket with seven seconds left, lifting the Utah Jazz to a 110-109 road win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday. Mitchell was just 3 of 15 from the floor until his pullup jumper with less than six minutes remaining got him going. Mitchell hit 5 of 8 down the stretch, scoring the Jazz's final 12 points, including the decisive floater over Oklahoma City's Luguentz Dort. Bojan Bogdanovic scored 23 points to lead Utah. Mitchell and Mike Conley finished with 20 points each, with Conley adding 10 rebounds and nine assists. Rudy Gobert contributed 12 points and 10 boards. Dort finished with 26 points, his career high for a regular-season game. Dort, who had never scored more than 15 in a home game, scored 30 points in Game 7 of the Thunder's first-round playoff loss to the Houston Rockets last season.

Damian Lillard leads Trail Blazers to win over Lakers, Nikola Jokic stars for Nuggets against Rockets: NBA round-up

Champions lose 115-107 having raced into a 13-point lead during the first quarter