London Lions given lesson by Portland in historic game for British basketball

The London Lions became the first British club to face an NBA team but suffered a heavy 119-66 defeat to the Portland Trail Blazers in Oregon on Monday.

London never led as Portland dominated throughout, leading for 99 per cent of the contest and stretching their advantage to as many as 57 points at one stage.

The Trail Blazers extended their lead in every quarter, going into the breaks 34-21, 72-33 and 100-49 ahead, having entered the game as 36.5-point favourites.

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Portland shot 56 per cent from the field and made 16 of their 34 three-point attempts, while London managed just 30 per cent overall and went 7 of 33 from beyond the arc.

The hosts dominated inside, outscoring the Lions 54-24 in the paint and winning the rebounding battle 51-32.

Overall, Portland registered 32 assists on 45 made field goals and showcased some nice ball movement at the Moda Center as they moved to 2-0 in preseason action.

London also committed 24 turnovers, from which Portland scored 39 points, compared with just 14 points the Lions generated from their opponents' mistakes.

The game was played under NBA rules rather than European regulations, with 12-minute quarters instead of 10, a larger court and a three-point line further from the basket.

London briefly threatened to make a contest of it towards the end of the first quarter.

Ethan Price hit two three-pointers from 26 feet in the space of 40 seconds, both assisted by Devante Adams either side of a Deni Avdija layup, to bring the Lions within four points at 23-19 with three minutes remaining in the period.

But Portland took control with a 38-12 second quarter, including a 15-0 run over the final four minutes of the half.

Maxwell Lewis, the only London player with previous NBA experience, led the Lions with 13 points, five rebounds and a game-high four steals.

Adams added 12 points off the bench, while Price and Joel Scott contributed eight apiece. Six of Scott's points came in the fourth quarter, while Thomas Kennedy collected six rebounds, including three offensive boards.

Great Britain international Tarik Phillip endured a difficult night, missing all eight of his field-goal attempts, including five from three-point range. His three points came entirely from the free-throw line.

Portland's five starters played a combined 76 minutes for 45 points. None of them appeared after half-time.

Toumani Camara and Scoot Henderson led the Trail Blazers with 14 points each. Henderson made four of his five three-point attempts in just 16 minutes off the bench.

Yang Hansen added 13 points and four assists, including a three-pointer from 25 feet, while Sidy Cissoko also scored 13, shooting a perfect 5 of 5 from the field and making all three of his attempts from beyond the arc.

Jeremy Sochan, who grew up in England, finished with eight points and a game-high eight rebounds, while marquee name Ja Morant scored five points and dished five dimes.

Deni Avdija recorded a game-best plus-minus of +44 in 17 minutes, while London's Keenan Evans finished at -45 in 20 minutes.

Damian Lillard, Robert Williams III, Shaedon Sharpe and Chris Youngblood did not feature for the Trail Blazers.

Coach Sabonis returns to where his father made his name

London are coached by Tautvydas Sabonis, whose father Arvydas spent seven seasons with Portland across the 1990s and early 2000s. Tautvydas had not visited the city for more than a decade.

Sabonis admitted the timing of the trip was far from ideal.

"If I had to choose a different timing, I would definitely choose it in the preseason, not now," he said.

Last season was his first in charge of the Lions, who won all four domestic competitions.

London are the reigning Super League Basketball champions, have started this season 5-0 in the SLB and have won one of their opening two EuroCup group games. In 2024, they became the first British men's club to reach the EuroCup semi-finals.

The Lions made a round trip of almost 10,000 miles in the middle of their domestic and European campaigns, arriving in Portland on Saturday afternoon before departing immediately after the game. They host Skyliners Frankfurt in the EuroCup on Thursday.

To minimise jet lag, the squad remained on British time throughout their stay in Oregon, waking at around 4am for breakfast.

A historic meeting with implications beyond Portland

The closest British and NBA club basketball had previously come to such a meeting was the 1995 McDonald's Championship, when Sheffield Sharks and Houston Rockets participated in the same tournament but did not face each other.

The Lions have submitted a bid to join the EuroLeague, which has ambitions to expand from 20 to 24 clubs by the 2027-28 season.

Owned by Lithuanian technology company Tesonet, London also became the first British basketball club to wear Jordan Brand kit this season.

Meanwhile, the proposed NBA Europe competition has placed renewed attention on the British market, with London and Manchester both discussed as potential franchise cities.

Monday's exhibition was not connected to that project, but it offered the Lions an opportunity to test themselves against NBA opposition and put British club basketball on an international stage.

The result demonstrated the gulf between the teams. The occasion, however, was about more than the scoreline.

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