The London Lions became the first British club to face an NBA team but suffered a heavy 119-66 loss 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 lead to as many as 57 points at one stage.
The Trail Blazers extended their lead in each quarter, taking 34-21, 72-33 and 100-49 leads into the break after entering the game as 36.5-point favorites.
Portland shot 56 percent from the field and made 16 of their 34 three-point attempts, while London hit just 30 percent overall and went 7 of 33 from beyond the arc.
The locals dominated inside, outscoring the Lions 54-24 in the paint and winning the rebounding battle 51-32.
Overall, Portland recorded 32 assists on 45 field goals and displayed some nice ball movement at the Moda Center as they went 2-0 in preseason action.
London also committed 24 turnovers, of which Portland scored 39 points, compared to just 14 points the Lions generated from their opponents’ mistakes.
The game was played under NBA rules rather than European rules, with 12-minute quarters instead of 10, a larger court and a three-point line farther from the basket.
London briefly threatened to make it a contest late in the first quarter.
Ethan Price hit two 26-foot 3-pointers in a 40-second span, both assisted by Devante Adams on either side of a Deni Avdija layup, to bring the Lions within four points at 23-19 with three minutes remaining.
But Portland took control with a 38-12 second quarter, including a 15-0 run in the final four minutes of the half.
Maxwell Lewis, London’s only 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 each contributed eight points. Six of Scott’s points came in the fourth quarter, while Thomas Kennedy collected six rebounds, including three offensive boards.
Great Britain’s Tarik Phillip endured a rough 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 starting five players combined for 76 minutes for 45 points. None of them appeared after the first half.
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 25-foot 3-pointer, 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 brand name Ja Morant scored five points and chipped in five dimes.
Deni Avdija posted 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 appear for the Trail Blazers.
Coach Sabonis returns to where his father made his name
London is managed by Tautvydas Sabonis, whose father Arvydas spent seven seasons with Portland during the 1990s and early 2000s. Tautvydas hadn’t visited the city in more than a decade.
Sabonis admitted that the travel time was far from ideal.
“If I had to choose another time, 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 is the reigning Super League Basketball champion, has started this season 5-0 in the SLB and has won one of the first two Eurocup group games. In 2024, they became the first British men’s club to reach the semi-finals of the European Cup.
The Lions made a round trip of almost 10,000 miles between 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 minimize jet lag, the team stayed on British time throughout their stay in Oregon, waking up around 4am for breakfast.
A historic meeting with implications beyond Portland
The closest British club basketball and the NBA had previously come to such a meeting was the 1995 McDonald’s Championship, when the 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 2027-2028 season.
London Lions guard Keenan Evans, left, looks for an opening behind Portland Trail Blazers forward Toumani Camara (AP Photo/Molly J. Smith)
Owned by Lithuanian technology company Tesonet, London also became the first British basketball club to wear a Jordan Brand jersey this season.
Meanwhile, the proposed NBA Europe competition has renewed attention in the British market, with London and Manchester both mooted as potential franchise cities.
Monday’s exhibition was not related 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 showed the difference between the teams. The occasion, however, was more than the result.
Watch action from the NBA’s opening night and throughout the season live on Sky Sports. Don’t have Sky? Get the latest Sky Sports offers OR stream without contract
