Portland’s first-half surge settles the exhibition
The Portland Trail Blazers defeated the London Lions 119–66 in Portland on Monday, October 12, building a decisive first-half lead in their preseason exhibition. Scoot Henderson and Toumani Camara each scored 14 points.
Portland led 34–21 after the opening quarter before stretching the advantage to 72–33 at halftime. That 39-point cushion allowed the hosts to control the second half without needing heavy minutes from the starting group.
Henderson made four of his five three-point attempts. None of Portland’s starters played more than 20 minutes, while Damian Lillard did not appear in the game, according to Blazer’s Edge’s recap.
Yang Hansen also contributed efficiently, making six of eight field-goal attempts and recording four assists against two turnovers. The distribution of minutes gave Portland a chance to assess players beyond the first unit as well as its starting combinations.
London’s own match report acknowledged the difficulty of handling Portland’s pace and finishing. The visitors had some early shooting contributions, but the gap widened substantially before the break and the final margin reached 53 points.
The result belongs to the exhibition schedule and has no bearing on NBA regular-season standings. Portland is scheduled to face Sacramento next on October 13 in the United States, providing a different test against NBA opposition after the London matchup.