PORTLAND, Ore. — After Nick Smith Jr. had scored eight consecutive points, slashing to the rim for a layup followed by two deep threes, Rui Hachimura could tell the 21-year-old guard was going to deliver a big game just when the Lakers needed it.
“Keep going,” Hachimura encouraged Smith during a second-quarter timeout.
Smith did. Straight to the tunnel, where the third-year guard got sick.
With their three biggest stars out, the Lakers literally gutted out a 123-115 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday at Moda Center as Smith fought through an uneasy stomach to notch 25 points and six assists in the Lakers’ fourth consecutive victory.
Smith, playing on a two-way contract with the South Bay Lakers, gave the Lakers (6-2) the perfect substitute off the bench as Luka Doncic (leg) and Austin Reaves (groin) sat out. He delivered electric shooting, making five of six shots from three-point range. With the team’s primary ball-handlers sidelined against an aggressive Portland defense, Smith steadied the offense. He also ignited it with 17 second-half points.
“He just took the game over,” coach JJ Redick said. “And we needed his handle and we needed his wiggle tonight. … Truthfully, it was a perfect game for him.”
Hachimura had 28 points while Deandre Ayton, returning from a one-game absence because of back spasms, had 29 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks against his former team. Bronny James, one night after playing significant fourth-quarter minutes to help the Lakers hold off the Miami Heat, tied with Smith and Jake LaRavia for the team lead with six assists.
Smith was an 11th-hour training camp addition, signing the day before media day. He stepped into the Lakers practice facility and saw hundreds of people, flashing cameras and almost a dozen media stations. The operation was nothing like what he’d seen in two years with the Charlotte Hornets.
Lakers guard Nick Smith Jr., left, celebrates with Bronny James after a 123-115 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday night.
(Steph Chambers / Getty Images)
Coming from relative anonymity, Smith understood his teammates likely didn’t know him at all. On Monday, they all embraced him on the sideline.
“I feel like it’s probably the most fun I’ve had in a long time,” Smith said. “Just coming together as a group, just getting a big win, especially with our best players out, Bron, Luka, AR. Those guys do a lot for us. So just to have a win like this, for the young guys, and the other players just to step up like this, it’s definitely big for us.”
LeBron James’ absence is approaching the four-week mark at which he is supposed to be reevaluated for a sciatic nerve injury on his right side. Redick did not have an official update, but he said James is “progressing.”
Doncic and Reaves sat out for the second game of a back-to-back. Coming off his first triple-double of the season, Doncic missed his fourth game of the year while managing a lower leg contusion he sustained last week. Reaves sat with right groin soreness.
Reaves started to feel discomfort in the first quarter Sunday, Redick said, but played through it to finish with 26 points with 11 assists. The team is hoping to get more information Tuesday before playing the San Antonio Spurs at Crypto.com Arena on Wednesday.
Despite their two leading scorers on the bench and the league’s all-time leading scorer at home, the Lakers are finding ways to win. They are also 3-1 in games without Doncic.
“Maybe the idea that being shorthanded is maybe a little bit of a misnomer,” Redick said. “I told the guys before the game we have enough in this locker room to win this game. My belief level in this group that’s here in Portland right now, that’s in uniform right now, is as high as it’s been. Like I’ve been around this enough to know when a group is connected.”
