The Los Angeles Lakers headed into Friday’s NBA Cup matchup with the Portland Trail Blazers looking for a little revenge after Damian Lillard and company handed JJ Redick’s squad its first loss of the season.

Although the Blazers gave the new-look Lakers a run for their money in the first half, things changed completely in the second half, with superstar guard Luka Doncic taking control and ultimately dropping a season-high 53 points on Portland.

Here are my three takeaways from the Lakers’ fourth straight win.

No. 3: Walker Kessler Provided Efficient Support

After the Lakers gave up two first-round picks to get him, Walker Kessler is starting to be a game-changing force to be reckoned with in the paint.

Kessler continues to put up solid numbers for his new team, recording his fourth double-double in the last five games, proving to be the rim protector the Lakers thought he’d be when they leveraged the future to bring him in.

Walker Kessler keeps positioning himself well

& His teammates keep finding him pic.twitter.com/Z8D450ATOr

— ItsAllLove (@nbanerdd) November 7, 2026

The 25-year-old center may not be amongst the best-scoring centers in the league, but he’s a dual threat, making an impact on both ends of the floor, which continued on Friday night.

He finished with 16 points, 12 rebounds, two assists and a steal, helping propel the Lakers to their eighth win of the 2026-27 campaign. The talented young center also shot 70% from the floor.

No. 2: Extra Possessions Helped Overcome Poor Outside Shooting

During the win over the Blazers, the Lakers were sorely lacking in the three-point shooting department, with Redick’s squad shooting an abysmal 30% from beyond the arc.

However, the Lakers were able to overcome those shooting struggles by winning the rebound battle (40-37), which is uncharacteristic, to say the least, swiping 15 steals and scoring 28 points on 24 turnovers.

Despite some lows, Los Angeles pulled it together as a team to record an eighth win of the season.

No. 1: Luka Doncic Continues to Carry the Offense

No matter what the scouting report says for Luka Doncic, opposing teams have no answer for the league’s leading scorer, as the Slovenian product continues to light up the scoreboard on a nightly basis.

It seems as though no Lakers opponent has an answer for the reigning scoring champion, as he dropped a season-high 53 points.

LUKA DONCIC FROM 3/4 COURT TO END THE HALF. OMG 🤯 pic.twitter.com/6MZGtF5ahY

— NBA on Prime (@NBAonPrime) November 7, 2026

Doncic is now averaging an NBA-leading 40.1 points per game, which puts him on another level entirely as this new-look Lakers team tries to prove its worth in the Western Conference.

At this point, there’s no telling when or if Doncic will slow down, which bodes well for the Lakers as they improve to 8-2.

Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on YouTube, Facebook, X/Twitter and Instagram for the latest news.