Blazers Duo Lillard and Morant is a Good Fit

The Portland Trail Blazers beat the Los Angeles Lakers 136-129 on Tuesday at Crypto.com Arena. The win pushes Portland to 3-0 on the season, one of four teams in the league still without a loss. It also ended the Lakers' three-game win streak.

Here are a few takeaways from the statement win:

Lillard-Morant fit showing promising signs

Morant helped lead Portland with 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting, and Lillard finished with 21 points plus a step-back 3-pointer in the final minute. Before the season, there were questions surrounding the duo, whether they would mesh well.

Both are playing 25-plus minutes per game thus far. Lillard is averaging 21.7 points per game on 45.2% from the field. Morant is averaging 16.3 points per game with 6.3 assists. At least right now, Morant being the third option behind Lillard and Deni Avdija is paying dividends. 

Both guards are high-usage players. Coach Micah Nori is not worried if one outscores the other in a win.

The supporting cast

Avdija had 23 points and nine assists. The All-Star from last season is picking up where he left off, leading the team in points and tying for the lead in assists. With Morant and Lillard as the team's main talking points, he has less pressure to put up big numbers night in and night out.

Jrue Holiday added 22 points, four rebounds and three assists in 29 minutes off the bench. He was tasked with guarding the Lakers' biggest threats, Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.

Portland's depth is real and may be the reason why they have started the season on the right track. Frontcourt operators Donovan Clingan and Robert Williams III are both averaging close to a double-double this season, collecting nine points and nine rebounds per game each.

Free-throw woes

In all of the good the Blazers did on Tuesday to scrape out a hard-fought win, they went 26-of-41 from the line. Lillard shot 7-of-11, Clingan shot 1-of-4 and Avdija shot 3-of-7. Lillard's career free-throw percentage is 89.9%, fourth all-time. Do not expect him to miss four free throws in a game anytime soon.

As a group, they are shooting 74.3% from the charity stripe, good for 18th in the league.

The Blazers look to extend their winning streak when they face a scorching-hot Ty Jerome and the Memphis Grizzlies at Moda Center on Thursday, Oct. 29. It'll be the second home game of the season.