Friday 19 October 2018 13:57, UK
A new chapter of the Los Angeles Lakers' famous story began in Portland on Thursday night, as LeBron James made his debut in purple and gold.
LeBron opened with two thunderous dunks and had 26 points and 12 rebounds in his first game with the Lakers, but the Portland Trail Blazers prevailed 128-119 Thursday night in the season opener for both teams.
Damian Lillard sunk 28 points and Nik Stauskas came off the bench to score 24 for Portland, as they won their 18th straight home opener to extend an NBA record, while it was the Blazers' 16th straight victory over the Lakers.
The opening festivities were tempered by the death this week of Trail Blazers owner Paul Allen. A "Rip City" baseball cap rested in Allen's courtside seat with a single rose.
The enigmatic co-founder of Microsoft died on Monday in Seattle. He was 65.
On the court, the focus was all on James. His monster dunks to start stunned the Moda Center crowd as he ended with a stat-line of 26 points, 12 rebounds and six assists is just a taster of what is to come. His points tally was a second-highest on Lakers debut in history.
Coach Luke Walton was upbeat about his side's showing, saying: "First game, we will be able to learn a lot. Overall I was happy with the way we played." On James, he added: "I'm glad he's on our team, he's pretty good at the game of basketball! The way he can control and lead is impressive."
LeBron and the Lakers will look to get their first win of the 2018-2019 campaign when they host Houston Rockets on Saturday while the Blazers host Spurs.
Live NBA: Boston @ Toronto: Celtics travel to the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto to take on the Raptors. Sky Sports Arena from 1am.
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