Moe-Money! Harkless Stuns Lakers at Buzzer, 104-101

A career night from an unheralded star was all Portland needed to keep their hopes of the third seed alive. Maurice Harkless had 26 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 blocks, but no points bigger than a three-point shot from the corner as time expired as the Portland Trail Blazers defeated the Los Angeles Lakers, 104-101.

Seth Curry had 19 points, and created the final moment as he stole a pass from Alex Caruso to setup the final shot. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had 32 points for the Lakers.

Here are tonight’s takeaways:

• Supporting cast falls flat. Zach Collins, Jake Layman, Al-Farouq Aminu and Rodney Hood were a combined 0-for-16 from the field. Curry, Harkless, and Enes Kanter rose to the occasion, but the poor night from the others hurt the Blazers.
• Backup Lakers show off. Much maligned acquisitions Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Mike Muscala went off. Muscala was shooting below 30% from three with the Lakers, but hit 4-of-7 from distance. A team missing its four leading scorers should not do this kind of damage.
• Harkless did everything. Simply an incredible performance on both ends of the court for Harkless. When the Lakers double-teamed Damian Lillard on the final possession, Lillard passed inside to CJ McCollum, who found Harkless in the corner for the winner.

WHAT’S NEXT?

Portland closes out the season at home against the Sacramento Kings tomorrow night.

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