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Lillard, Trent rally Blazers over Lakers

Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard carries the ball toward the rim during the second half of a win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday in Los Angeles. Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI
1 of 3 | Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard carries the ball toward the rim during the second half of a win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday in Los Angeles. Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo

Dec. 29 (UPI) -- Damian Lillard scored a game-high 31 points to lead the Portland Trail Blazers to a comeback victory over the world champion Los Angeles Lakers.

The Blazers overcame a 13-point deficit and ended the game on a 12-6 run to earn the 115-107 triumph on Monday at Staples Center in Los Angeles.

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"I'm happy with it," Lillard told reporters. "I came into the season optimistic, as always. I expect a lot out of our team and myself. I am just letting it happen."

Gary Trent Jr. scored a career-high 28 points off the Blazers bench. LeBron James led the Lakers with 29 points, nine rebounds and six assists.

"We knew we were playing a very good team," James said. "We knew it wasn't going to be a blowout and we had to win the game in 48 minutes. It came down to execution."

James scored 12 points in the first quarter to get the Lakers off to a quick start. Los Angeles opened the game on a 6-0 run before it put together another 11-2 run to earn a 20-7 lead midway through the first quarter.

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The Blazers responded with an 11-0 run and cut the Lakers lead to 30-22 at the end of the frame. Portland continued its hot streak with a 10-0 run to start the second quarter. C.J. McCollum scored 11 points in the frame to help Portland take a 58-54 lead at halftime.

The Lakers then went on a 15-0 run to start the third quarter and outscored the Blazers 31-26 in the frame to take a one-point lead into the fourth quarter.

The Lakers and Blazers exchanged the lead several times to start the final frame before Portland pulled away.

Jusuf Nurkic gave the Blazers a 100-99 lead with a go-ahead layup with 5:15 remaining. The Blazers then used a 10-2 run to take a 108-101 lead with 2:55 remaining and held onto the edge down the stretch to secure the victory.

Nurkic had 10 points and 12 rebounds for the Blazers. McCollum added 20 points and 11 assists in the victory. Enes Kanter chipped in 12 points and 14 rebounds off the Blazers bench.

Trent made 7 of 11 of his attempts from 3-point range and 10 of his 14 shots overall in the victory.

"Whenever you can get it going, it's a great feeling," Trent said. "It was most important to get the win. That's what we came here to do."

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Lakers guard Dennis Schroder had 24 points in the loss. Anthony Davis had 13 points, 10 rebounds and five assists for the Lakers. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope chipped in 14 points in the loss.

The Lakers (2-2) face the San Antonio Spurs at 8:30 p.m. EST on Wednesday at the AT&T Center in San Antonio. The Blazers (2-1) face the Los Angeles Clippers at 10 p.m. EST on Wednesday at Staples Center.

Moments from LeBron James' career

St. Vincent-St. Mary High School senior LeBron James (L) drives around a Zanesvuille defender in Akron, Ohio, on February 14, 2003. James is expected to be the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft. A couple months later, the Cleveland Cavaliers coach was suspended because James worked out with the team before he graduated from high school. Photo by Tom Cammett/UPI | License Photo

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