On Dec. 29, Kobe and Gianna sat courtside to watch James and Dallas’ Luka Doncic face off. The Bryants took pictures with Doncic after the game.

Speaking of the way he has been embraced in grief by what he referred to as “Laker Nation,” James said: “This is really, really truly a family.”

And Kobe, James said, is “a brother to me.”

The Lakers’ pregame tribute to Kobe was executed beautifully.

But there a was a game to play after that — and coping with Portland’s Damian Lillard, on such an emotional night, proved to be progressively difficult for the team with the N.B.A.’s second-best record.

Lillard scored 23 of his 48 points in the third quarter to lead the Portland Trail Blazers (22-27) to a 127-119 victory over the Lakers. Hassan Whiteside added a crucial 30 points, 12 rebounds and 5 blocked shots for Portland, including a game-sealing fadeaway jumper with 52.3 seconds remaining.

Despite 37 points and 15 rebounds from Anthony Davis and James’ 22 points, 8 rebounds and 10 assists, L.A. never recovered from Lillard’s flurry of long-range 3s in the third period.

“It’s hard to be excited about a game when you have this type of situation,” Lillard told ESPN’s Lisa Salters after the game.