By Satuk Bugra Kutlugun
ANKARA (AA) – LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers fell to Portland Trail Blazers 128-119 on Thursday evening.
The National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2018/2019 regular season continued with three games in which Blazers, Philadelphia 76ers and Miami Heat were the winning teams.
In his first game as a Laker, James scored 26 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and dished out 6 assists but Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum combined for 49 points to help Blazers get past the Lakers.
In Thursday's first Eastern Conference match, Philadelphia 76ers defeated Chicago Bulls 127-108 to grab their first win of the season at home.
Joel Embiid scored 30 points and pulled down 12 boards, Ben Simmons made a “triple-double ” with 13 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists to beat the Bulls.
Turkish international Furkan Kormaz also played 7 minutes and grabbed a rebound.
In the other Eastern Conference matchup, Miami Heat defeated the Washington Wizards in an away match 113-112, thanks to Kelly Olynyk's last-second put-back finish.
Heat's Josh Richardson scored 28 points to lead all scores in the match, John Wall's 26-point performance was not enough for the Wizards.
