Lakers close regular season with meaningless loss in Portland
With all of their rotation players rested, the Lakers lost in a blowout to the Blazers.
The Lakers lost their final game of the regular season to the Trail Blazers on Sunday afternoon, 109-81. Having locked up their playoff seed with Friday’s win over the Rockets, the Lakers rested everyone of note against Portland with the result being irrelevant.
Dalton Knecht ended with 25 points, eight rebounds and two blocks. Shake Milton had 16 points and three assists. Markieff Morris pitched in with 11 points, four rebounds and six assists. Jordan Goodwin scored 12 points to go with his seven rebounds, four assists and two steals.
In a wholly expected start to the game, the young Lakers missed about every shot. Old reliable Markieff jump-started the offense, which led to an eventual fun 10-0 scoring run for LA. Much of the rest of the first quarter was a mixture of Dalton, Jordan, and Shake taking turns showing what they can do.
In the second quarter, LA started with a better flow in their offense. Dalton continued to take advantage of his playing time, becoming the leading scorer with 13 points. Portland then took complete control of the quarter, leading to a 15-point advantage at halftime.
The Lakers head into halftime trailing 58-43, with Dalton Knecht's 13 points and 6 boards leading the way in this regular season finale.
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) April 13, 2025
The second half started just as the first did with the Lakers doing mostly cardio and missing plenty of shots. Alex Len fouled out with four minutes left in the quarter, accurately describing how the third was going.
Jordan continued to have his productive minutes off the bench, pushing his scoring total to 12 points. He will be an important piece for the Lakers come playoff time and this extra playing time will be hugely beneficial for him.
The final frame was more extra burn for the young Lakers, with Dalton showing the coaching staff he deserves possible playtime in the playoffs.
Key Takeaways:
Markieff might be the greatest vet ever.
The Lakers’ next matchup is TBD as playoff seedings fall into place!
You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.