PORTLAND, Ore. — The Lakers were without one of their star players and one of their best defenders for Thursday night’s road game against the Portland Trail Blazers.

Luka Doncic (left calf injury management) and forward Jarred Vanderbilt (right foot surgery management) weren’t available against the Blazers for the game at the Moda Center, which was the second night of a back-to-back following Wednesday night’s home loss to the Charlotte Hornets.

Doncic was sidelined for 6 1/2 weeks because of a strained left calf before making his return and his Lakers debut in the Feb. 10 home win against the Utah Jazz.

“Just continuing to manage for the long term with the calf injury and the time off,” coach JJ Redick said pregame. “Again, like I said the other day, I think going forward, the restrictions and back-to-backs and stuff like that, I don’t think there’s gonna be anything there that we have to worry about. But again, with the time off, the injury, we’re still managing to some degree just with the return to play and the All-Star break.”

Doncic had his minutes restrictions eased against the Hornets, playing 33 minutes after playing 23 and 24 minutes in his first two games with the Lakers.

The Lakers have seven more back-to-back sets in their final 28 games after Thursday.

Redick was noncommittal when asked whether Doncic would play in both games of the team’s back-to-backs moving forward.

“I would expect him to be available, but again, I don’t commit to anything,” Redick said. “I don’t know what’s going to happen Saturday.”

Vanderbilt was sidelined for nearly a year because of foot ailments and had surgery on both feet during the offseason. He made his return to the floor in a Jan. 25 road win against the Golden State Warriors. Vanderbilt hasn’t played in both games of a back-to-back set since returning.

Star forward LeBron James was available after being listed as questionable on Thursday afternoon because of left foot injury management.

James played against the Hornets, recording 26 points, 11 assists, seven rebounds and a pair of blocked shots in 38 minutes after sitting out of Sunday’s NBA All-Star Game because of lingering left foot/ankle soreness, which he’s been listed with on the team’s injury reports consistently since December.

The Lakers are in the midst of three games in four nights, with a prime-time matchup against the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena concluding their brief road trip on Saturday.

DIFFERING OPINIONS

Two weeks after the Lakers rescinded their trade for Charlotte Hornets center Mark Williams because of a failed physical exam, the 7-footer’s agent, Mark Schwartz, released a statement on Thursday saying disagreeing with the organization’s decision.

“The overwhelming sentiment, after conferring with multiple nationally recognized doctors, is that the Los Angeles Lakers should not have failed Mark Williams on his physical,” Schwartz said. “Mark was ready and able to play for them and should have been giving that opportunity.”

The Lakers originally made a deal for Williams ahead of the NBA’s trade deadline on Feb. 6, sending rookie wing Dalton Knecht, veteran wing Cam Reddish, their 2031 unprotected first-round draft pick and a 2030 first-round pick swap to Charlotte.

But 48 hours later, the deal was off, with the Lakers citing a “failure to satisfy a condition of the trade,” bringing Knecht, Reddish and the draft picks back to the Lakers and sending Williams back to the Hornets.

Williams made his return to the floor against the Lakers after not playing in the Hornets’ three games before the All-Star break after the trade was rescinded.

He finished with 10 points, nine rebounds and two assists in 29 minutes in the victory over the Lakers.

Williams, who’s averaged 15.3 points and 9.6 rebounds in 24 games in his third NBA season, believes more went into the Lakers’ decision to rescind the trade.

“I don’t know if, for them, it was what they gave up, or what went into that,” Williams told Fox Sports on Wednesday. “But I don’t think it was solely because of my physical. I’ve been playing all year, and I think my minutes and my production on the court speaks for itself.”

Williams added to Fox Sports. “I was initially excited for the opportunity. I felt like I could have contributed for them. But, obviously, they had second thoughts.”