Duke basketball standout torches defending champs

A former Duke basketball standout torched the defending champions on Monday night.

Into the early hours of Tuesday morning on the East Coast, a former Duke basketball star went to work on the defending NBA Champions.

Gary Trent Jr. torched the Los Angeles Lakers (2-2) as his Portland Trail Blazers (2-1) picked up their biggest win of the young season, 115-107.

The former Blue Devil exploded for 28 points in just 24 minutes on 10-of-14 shooting from the floor and 7-of-11 shooting from 3-point range.

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Trent Jr. also had his team’s highest +/- rating of +15 while adding three rebounds and one assist.

Monday night’s performance was by far the best through three games for the shooting guard after adding 11 points in a loss on Opening Night to the Utah Jazz and going scoreless in only six minutes in an overtime victory over the Houston Rockets.

What is the most impressive feat in Trent Jr.’s showcase was his point total despite his absence from the floor in the final seven minutes as the Blazers closed out their victory over Los Angeles.

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Gary Trent Jr. tied a career-high in made 3-pointers (seven) and fell two points shy of his career-high (30) on the stat sheet.

Damian Lillard was the only player for Portland who outscored Trent Jr. as the All-Star exploded for 31 points in the win.

Another Duke basketball standout also saw minutes in Monday’s matchup

Rodney Hood logged 16 minutes, adding five points to the winning cause for the Trail Blazers, as Harry Giles did not see action for the second time in three games for Portland.

Los Angeles Lakers reserve guard Quinn Cook also did not play in Monday’s game.

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The Portland Trail Blazers will remain in the City of Angels and return to the court on Wednesday, December 30 against the Los Angeles Clippers (10:00pm EST, NBATV).

The Los Angeles Lakers will hit the road for the first time this season for a four-game trip, spanning two cities, beginning in San Antonio to play the Spurs in back-to-back games, also on Wednesday night (8:30pm EST).