Former Maryland star Jake Layman is having a breakout year for the Trail Blazers after spending the first two years of his career as a fringe rotation player for Portland.
In the Blazers’ 118-108 loss to the Miami Heat on Tuesday night, Layman dropped 25 points, enough for a new career high. He was very efficient from the field in the 33 minutes that he played, shooting 11-for-17 from the field and 2-for-5 from three-point range. Layman also contributed eight rebounds, two assists and a steal.
Four of Layman’s points came off of alley-oops, with one being a transition slam assisted by Damian Lillard, and the other coming from CJ McCollum.
Jake Layman puts down the alley-oop slam #RIPCity pic.twitter.com/bWsmdHOLsk
— Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) February 6, 2019
Jake Layman has some serious ????s#RipCity | #PlayersOnly pic.twitter.com/lgKWETJMwZ
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 6, 2019
The former four-year star for the Terrapins has had many hot scoring nights this season. Entering the year, Layman’s career high was the 17 points he scored on his debut, but he has now scored at least 20 points in games this season. His previous career-high was the 24 points he scored against the Phoenix Suns on Dec. 6. This is also the eighth game out of Portland’s last 10 in which Layman has scored in double figures.
With Layman set to hit free agency this summer, his improved play for Portland might score him a long-term deal.