Blazers Beat Lakers 136-129: Lillard, Portland Hand LA First Loss

The Trail Blazers are still perfect. Portland went into crypto.com Arena on Tuesday night and beat the Lakers 136-129, handing Los Angeles its first loss of the season in a game that turned into a shootout. Damian Lillard drove the result, and Luka Dončić's 40 points weren't enough to keep the Lakers unbeaten.

The defining storyline was simple: two undefeated teams met, and only one kept a clean record. Portland shot its way to the win, while Los Angeles — averaging 128.0 points per game through three wins — got its offense again but couldn't get the stops when the game tightened.

How our premium pick did

We sold the Under 236.5 as the one number worth attacking, and it missed — badly. The teams combined for 265 points, 28.5 over the line. The Lakers' defensive leak that we flagged as a concern showed up in full: Portland scored 136, and the game never slowed to the pace the number needed. Our projected 115.8-113.0 scoreline was nowhere close to the actual 136-129 final.

Takeaway for future picks

When two fast, high-scoring teams meet early in the season, the total deserves more respect than a mid-230s line suggests — especially when one defense has been allowing 115.0 per game. The total was the miss. Expect us to be slower to fade offense in similar spots going forward.