Lakers prevail after trailing by 25

PORTLAND, Ore. – LeBron James scored 20 of his 37 points in the second half as the Los Angeles Lakers rallied from a 25-point halftime deficit to stun the Portland Trail Blazers, 121-112, on Sunday.

The Lakers, who scored just 13 points to Portland’s 45 in the second quarter, roared back to become the first team to win a game in which it lost a quarter by 30 or more points since the Boston Celtics against the Buffalo Braves in 1972.

The remarkable reversal was just one dramatic comeback on a night that saw the Brooklyn Nets – led by 38 points from an inspired Kyrie Irving – beat the NBA champion Golden State Warriors, 120-116, in San Francisco.

However, the two top teams in the Western Conference – the Denver Nuggets and Memphis Grizzlies – couldn’t climb all the way back from early deficits, Denver falling, 101-99, to the Oklahoma City Thunder and Memphis losing, 112-110, to the Phoenix Suns.

In Portland, a Lakers team struggling for consistency in the absence of injured Anthony Davis started promisingly, making their first six shots on the way to an early 14-point lead.

But the second quarter saw them “falling apart on both sides of the ball,” coach Darvin Ham said, and they were on the ropes after the period in which their six made shots were one fewer than their seven turnovers.

But James scored 16 points in the third quarter and Dennis Schroder added 14 as the Lakers cut the deficit to five heading into the final frame.

“Thank God for the standing eight count,” James said. “We were able to stay in the bout.”

Schroder finished with 21 points in total and Thomas Bryant added 31 points and 14 rebounds for the Lakers.