PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Dalano Banton scored 23 points and the Portland Trail Blazers ended their season Sunday with a 109-81 victory over the playoff-bound Los Angeles Lakers, playing without Luka Doncic and LeBron James.
Rookie Dalton Knecht had 27 points for the Lakers (50-31), who had won the last six meetings with Portland.
The Lakers had already locked up the third seed in the Western Conference with a 140-109 win over Houston on Friday. The Lakers will face the sixth-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves in the opening round.
With a postseason berth secured, James (left groin strain) and Doncic (left quad soreness) were among those that did not play. Bronny James made his first start of the season, finishing with four points.
The Blazers were earlier eliminated from the postseason for the fourth straight season. But Portland, with the second-youngest roster in the league, surpassed expectations to finish 36-46.
Earlier Sunday, the Blazers announced that coach Chauncey Billups had agreed to a multi-year contract extension.
Portland held off the Lakers throughout the first half. Matisse Thybulle’s 3 pointer gave the Blazers a 48-42 lead and Portland went on to extend the lead to 58-43 at the break.
Portland went on to lead by as many as 33 points.
Takeaways
Lakers: Also sat starters Rui Hachimura (patellar tendon), Austin Reaves (right ankle) and Jaxon Hayes (right hand contusion).
Trail Blazers: Were also short-handed with Anfernee Simons, Shaedon Sharpe, Scoot Henderson Deni Avdija and JeramiGrant sidelined.
Key moment
The Blazers outscored the Lakers 31-18 in the third quarter and headed to the fourth with a 89-61 lead.
Key stat
Alex Len fouled out with just 13 minutes of play for the Lakers. He finished with four points.
Up next
The Lakers host Minnesota in the opening round next weekend with the date and time to be determined. The Trail Blazers head into the offseason.
Blazers sign coach Chauncey Billups to a multi-year extension
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Coach Chauncey Billups has signed a multi-year contract extension with the Portland Trail Blazers.
The Blazers did not release terms of the deal, announced before the regular-season finale against the Lakers on Sunday.
In his fourth year with the Blazers, Billups has guided the team to a 35-46 record this season. While Portland missed out on the postseason for the fourth straight year, the team performed better than expected with young stars like Scott Henderson, Shaedon Sharpe, Toumani Camara and Deni Avdija.
“I’m just so happy, with what we’ve done and where I think we can go,” Billups said. “So much promise here. I’m pumped about it.”
Billups has helped the Blazers forge an identity, especially over the last 40 games when Portland had the league’s third-best defensive rating. The second youngest team in the league went on a run in late January-early February when they won 10 of 11 games.
“The defensive improvement that we’ve seen, for us to be the third-best defense in the league in the second half of the season. That’s meaningful and substantive,” said general manager Joe Cronin, who signed his own extension earlier this week. “And that’s what we’ve been trying to build. And that’s a what we’re going to point to moving forward, this is who we are.”
There were other teams reported to be interested in Billups, including the Phoenix Suns.
“The core of Chauncey’s leadership is his ability to build a collaborative culture and growth mindset for our young team,” Blazers chair Jody Allen said in a statement. “We’re very happy to extend his contract as head coach, and excited to see his continued work developing our players and transforming this team into one capable of long-term success.”
Billups, 48, who had an NBA playing career that spanned 17 seasons, won a championship with Detroit in 2004 and was named the finals MVP. A five-time All-Star, he was inducted to the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame in October.
“I just feel very good about where we’re at, and now I understand how long it takes to build a culture. I feel like we’ve done that,” Billups said. “I think the tell tale of that, for any coaches, is if at some point when your team kind of takes on your personality and how you believe the game should be played, I think you’ve gotten there.”
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