The Los Angeles Lakers headed into Tuesday’s game against the visiting Portland Trail Blazers riding high, as Luka Doncic and company had racked up three straight wins to start the 2026-27 NBA season, with the Slovenian superstar putting on a show in the scoring department.

Unfortunately, the team’s flawless record came to an end, with Damian Lillard and the Blazers getting the best of JJ Redick’s squad, 136-129.

Here are my three takeaways from what transpired on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena.

No. 3: Lakers' Defense Gets Exposed in First Loss

One of the things the Lakers brass wanted to upgrade heading into the NBA offseason this past summer was the defense, and they seemed to make strides in that area over the first three games, with three wins to their credit.

However, the Blazers may have exposed this new-look Lakers team in that category on Tuesday night, lighting up Doncic and company for a season-high 136 points in Los Angeles in front of the Lakers faithful.

Redick said the following about his team’s effort defensively after the game.

“We got broken down a lot,” Redick said of the Lakers’ performance against the Blazers. “The game plan discipline, KYP (know your personnel) personnel discipline wasn't where it needs to be.” 

“But we got good looks, and I thought, we had, or I think we have to be able to rely on our defense every night, and if we score 129 points at home, we should be able to get enough stops to win and credit to Portland for sure.”

Although the Blazers are a team that I think is underrated and will surprise some people during the 2026-27 campaign, the Lakers had a chance to put them away and failed to capitalize.

No. 2: Luka Doncic Continues Incredible Scoring Run

After dropping a season-high 52 points in the comeback win against the Utah Jazz, Doncic followed it up with a 41-point performance against the Blazers on Tuesday night.

The reigning scoring champion shot well from the floor, going 12-for-22 from the field, while also dishing out nine assists, which was tied for a game-high with Deni Avdija.

Doncic was also able to keep the turnovers down, committing only a season-low two against Portland. 

Despite putting on another stellar all-around performance, the Lakers fell short and now sit at 3-1 on the season.

No. 1: Lakers Can't Finish After Building Double-Digit Lead

During the win against the Jazz earlier this week, the Luka-led Lakers showed remarkable resilience, coming back from 18 points down to secure a road win at the Delta Center.

Unfortunately, that same resiliency didn’t carry over to Tuesday’s game in Los Angeles, as Lillard’s squad was able to go blow for blow with the Lakers in their effort to stay undefeated.

The Lakers may have just faced their first formidable foe, and Redick is bound to take notice that there’s still a lot of work to do in order to get this revamped roster ready to take on the rigors of an 82-game season in a Western Conference that might be better than expected.

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