The Oklahoma City Thunder will travel on the road to face the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday. It's the second game of a four-game road trip and the second night of a back-to-back for OKC. This will be the first matchup of the season between the two squads.

Playing without Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, the Lakers won at Portland on Monday night behind a combined 57 points from starters Deandre Ayton and Rui Hachimura and an unexpected 25-point performance from reserve guard Nick Smith Jr.

The Lakers went into Portland with their forces severely depleted, but they were still able to defeat a chippy Trail Blazers team.

Similar thoughts would also stem from veteran big man Jonas Valanciunas after the Nuggets' loss post-game––echoing that, in order to win in the NBA, it's an every-night business. When you're a step short, challenging opponents are going to capitalize.

The Los Angeles Lakers were short-staffed on Monday with Luka Dončić, LeBron James and Austin Reaves all sidelined, but they managed to pick up a 123-115 win over the Portland Trail Blazers.

Coach JJ Redick acknowledges the buy-in from the players, who won on Monday night in Portland without LeBron James, Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.