were back carrying the load for the Lakers.

And they were successful, combining for 72 points, 11 assists, 9 rebounds, 4 steals and 3 blocked shots in the Lakers’ 110-102 win over the Trail Blazers, one night after a disappointing home loss to the Charlotte Hornets.

James led the way with 40 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and a blocked shot, while Reaves had 32 points, 7 assists, 2 steals and a pair of blocked shots.

The pair combined for 23 points of the team’s 32 points in the fourth, a quarter the Lakers won after leading 78-77 at the end of the third period.

The Lakers’ struggles with taking care of the ball allowed the Trail Blazers to stay in the game after leading by as many as 18 in the second and 55-47 at halftime.

They had nine turnovers for 14 Blazers points in the third quarter after having nine giveaways for 11 Portland points in the entire first half, allowing Portland to outscore the Lakers 30-23 in the third.

The Lakers finished with a season-worst 24 giveaways for 31 Blazers points.

But James and Reaves made sure the Lakers didn’t drop their third straight game.

After Portland tied the score at 81, Reaves made a layup and James made a pair of 3s and a 17-footer over Jerami Grant to put the Lakers up 91-84 midway through the fourth.

Reaves’ 3 at the 3:23 mark of the fourth put the Lakers up by eight, 102-94.

The Lakers still struggled to take care of the ball, with James and Reaves having late-quarter turnovers that helped the Blazers cut their deficit to 106-102.

But with the Blazers intentionally fouling, Gabe Vincent made a pair of free throws to put the Lakers up by six with 16.7 seconds left. Reaves also made a trio of clutch defensive plays to prevent Portland from cutting deeper into the lead.

Dorian Finney-Smith, starting in place of Doncic, was the lone other Laker to score in double figures, finishing with 10 points and four rebounds in 33 minutes. He reached double figures with a putback layup to give the Lakers a 106-98 lead with just less than a minute remaining.

James reached 40 points with a pair of free throws with 5 seconds left, his second game scoring at least 40 since turning 40 years old in late December.

The Trail Blazers were led by Deni Avdija’s 28 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds.