EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — The playoff series between the Lakers and Portland Trail Blazers could come down to a finger.

High-scoring Portland guard Damian Lillard dislocated his left index finger in Game 2 against the Lakers, but plans to play Saturday in Game 3 of the first-round playoff series.

How well he shoots and handles the ball while managing pain is a key part of which team takes the lead in the best-of-seven series in Orlando.

Lillard was hurt in the third quarter Thursday while trying to steal the ball from Anthony Davis. The follow-through of Lillard’s hand swipe accidentally smacked Davis’ foot. Lillard left the game for good after a relatively quiet night in which he was one for seven from three-point range as the Lakers rolled, 111-88.

Lillard initially thought his finger was broken and angrily threw a towel at the wall behind the team bench. However, he’s playing today — most likely with a splint on the finger — according to his coach.

For better or worse, we became plenty familiar with these types of injuries while covering Kobe Bryant for 12 years. He had a number of issues with his fingers, including an avulsion fracture in his right index finger that bothered him for months during the 2009-10 season.

Let's not forget Bryant dislocating his middle finger in his 20th and final season. There were two minutes left in his last game against San Antonio when he hurt his finger while slipping. He went to the sideline for a brief visit with athletic trainer Gary Vitti and his knees buckled while the finger was popped back into place. The horrified look on a fan sitting next to the team bench said it all.

Bryant re-entered the game and immediately scored on a nine-footer in the lane — no surprise there.

Generally speaking, Lillard and backcourt mate CJ McCollum are going to score their points. We all know that, and the Lakers know that too.

But the Lakers are doing a solid job holding the rest of Portland’s team.

Carmelo Anthony has made only four of 17 shots in the series for a woeful 24 percent. He had only two points in Game 2. Jusuf Nurkic is struggling too at 37 percent, very low for a center of his stature.

Key reserve Gary Trent Jr. is averaging only 6.5 points after scoring 15.8 per game in his last nine appearances before facing the Lakers.

The Blazers don’t have many other options. They’re not a deep team, and starter Zach Collins was just ruled out for the rest of the playoffs because of an ankle injury. None of this is promising news for them.

On offense, the Lakers want more of what Anthony Davis brought to the table in Game 2. He was assertive from the start and became the first Lakers player with at least 30 points and 10 rebounds in under 30 minutes of a playoff game.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope also had his best game since the league restarted, breaking out of a slump with 16 points and four-for-six shooting from three-point range.

Mike Bresnahan is the Lakers analyst for Spectrum SportsNet.