The Los Angeles Lakers bested the Portland Trail Blazers 123-115 on Monday despite being w ithout Luka Doncic, LeBron James, and Austin Reaves. Los Angeles head coach JJ Redick offered a simple explanation as to how his short-handed squad was able to prevail.

“Confidence. Belief. Connectivity,” Redick told Spectrum SportsNet after the game.

The Lakers received massive showings from both center Deandre Ayton and forward Rui Hachimura . Ayton totaled 29 points and 10 rebounds while Hachimura posted 28 points and four boards.

While both of these players were critical, Los Angeles guard Nick Smith Jr. may have turned in the most surprising performance of the evening. The 21-year-old tallied 25 points while shooting 10-of-15 from the field and 5-of-6 from distance. Article Contin

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