Lakers’ Reaves, Doncic ship late-game magic in OT thriller

LOS ANGELES — On an evening the place seemingly each participant on the Lakers made a giant play to elevate them to a 127-125 extra time win over the Nuggets on Saturday, maybe none was larger than a missed shot by Austin Reaves.

On this case, it was an deliberately missed free throw with 5.2 seconds remaining within the fourth quarter.

Reaves flung the ball off the left aspect of the entrance of the rim, chased down the offensive rebound and tossed in a 9-foot floater with 1.9 seconds left to tie the rating at 118 and pressure extra time.

“I imply, I knew I used to be going to overlook,” mentioned Reaves, who led Los Angeles with 32 factors, topping 30 for the third straight sport. “I wasn’t going to present the ball a possibility to go in. Some individuals shoot it excessive, they usually find yourself making it on accident. However I do not suppose my ball ever received over 10 toes.”

Deandre Ayton was the one Lakers participant lined up on the left block, and he boxed three-time MVP Nikola Jokic below the basket, permitting Reaves a transparent path to pursue the carom.

“It was very laborious to do, and only for him to tie the sport, that gave us the win, mainly,” Luka Doncic mentioned. “That execution was perfection.”

It arrange extra late-game magic from Doncic on the finish of the additional session when, with the rating tied, he hit an 18-foot step-back, fadeaway soar shot with 0.5 remaining to place the Lakers up by two. On Denver’s ensuing possession, he blocked former teammate Tim Hardaway Jr.‘s 3-pointer on the buzzer to seal it.

“Went to my left hand, to my left step-back,” Doncic mentioned. “I did {that a} couple instances all through my profession, so I simply belief the shot.”

Whereas Doncic — who completed with 30 factors, 13 assists and 11 rebounds for his eighth triple-double of the season — was modest about following up his first 50-point sport as a Laker along with his first sport winner for the franchise, LeBron James celebrated the 27-year-old star.

“Only a big-time shot by a f—ing generational participant,” James mentioned. “He is only a big-time participant, man. … We needed the final shot. We needed to place the ball in our man’s arms.

“… It’ll be simply the primary of many sport winners like that for him in a Lakers uniform.”

Identical to Doncic’s shot would not have occurred with out Reaves’ floater, the latter won’t have occurred if not for the trouble James confirmed with below a minute to go in regulation.

With the Lakers trailing 112-111 with 54.3 seconds left, James dived on a unfastened ball to cease Christian Braun from getting an offensive rebound and compelled a soar ball at middle courtroom when Jamal Murray tied him up on the ground.

“I advised [James] after the sport, I mentioned, ‘In 23 years of watching you play within the NBA, the three years I watched you play in highschool, I by no means noticed you make a full-out extension dive like that,” Lakers coach JJ Redick mentioned. “He mentioned, ‘You are proper, I’ve by no means accomplished that.'”

Redick mentioned he advised his group to deal with Saturday like a playoff sport, with the tiebreaker for the season collection towards Denver on the road and postseason positioning at stake. James mentioned that message resonated, resulting in efforts throughout the board just like what he confirmed on the hustle play.

“I feel all of us have heard it from our coaches after we have been little: The primary man to the ground normally will get the ball,” mentioned James, who completed with 17 factors, six rebounds and 5 assists in 40 minutes of enjoying time. “In order that’s simply my little league coach form of in my head at that second, understanding the importance of it.”

The Lakers additionally acquired key contributions from Marcus Good (21 factors, 5 steals), who had a strip resulting in a go-ahead layup with 46.8 seconds remaining within the fourth quarter and adopted that with a go-ahead 3-pointer with 30.7 seconds left in extra time. Ayton (9 factors, 9 rebounds) had 4 factors on 2-for-2 taking pictures, two rebounds and a block on Jokic in extra time.

Jokic (24 factors, 16 rebounds, 14 assists) was 1-for-4 with two factors and one board in extra time.

“It was solely becoming that everyone on the ground did one thing, did one thing to get us that win,” Doncic mentioned.

The Lakers have received 5 video games in a row and eight of their previous 9 to climb to No. 3 within the Western Convention standings. They’ve a half-game lead on the No. 4 Houston Rockets, whom the Lakers will play Monday and Wednesday in Houston as the primary two video games of their six-game street journey.

“Is ‘coalesce’ a phrase? Is that the precise phrase? For coming collectively?” Redick requested. “I feel it seems like we’re coalescing proper now in a very nice method. Nonetheless received a protracted solution to go, nonetheless received a protracted solution to go, however actually optimistic with how we dealt with this stretch of video games. … It is massive time.”