Mark Medina
LOS ANGELES – The crowd erupted when Lakers star Luka Dončić sank a baseline jumper to secure a127-125 overtime win over the Denver Nuggets on Saturday at Crypto.com Arena.
The crowd gasped when Austin Reaves missed a second free throw intentionally. They then exhaled when Reaves grabbed a rebound and sank a floater to force overtime.
The crowd cheered when 41-year-old LeBron James dove on the floor to secure a loose ball, while the Lakers trailed by one with 54.6 seconds left in regulation.
Those three breath-taking moments explains he Lakers’ current circumstances. The Lakers (42-35) hold a ½ game lead for the Western Conference’s third seed. They have won five consecutive games, including three against playoff contenders. They have shown that Dončić, Reaves and James can all thrive among each other, individually and with their supporting cast.
Fitting on a night when nearly every Lakers player made team-oriented plays, James dished off another assist to Dončić on his late-game heroics.
“Big-time shot by a generational player,” Lakers forward LeBron James said. “It’s going to be the first of many game winners of his in a Laker uniform.”
Perhaps this will be the first of many times the Lakers show ready to win a high-stakes game in a playoff-like atmosphere.
Of course that starts with Dončić, who posted his 55th career-triple double and seventh this season in points (30), rebounds (11) and assists (13) two nights after scoring 51 points against Chicago. Dončić also made his sixth-career game-winning shot by relying on both his skills and instincts.
With the ball in his hands behind the perimeter, Dončić sensed he would draw a double team. Nuggets forward Bruce Brown cut off Dončić’s right side while Spencer Jones guarded him. So Dončić drove left toward the basket. Dončić stopped abruptly to throw Jones off balance. Dončić then pulled up for a step-back jumper. The ball went through the net with .5 seconds left. Dončić then turned toward the roaring Lakers fans
“I felt like it was the best atmosphere since I’ve been with the Lakers,” Dončić said. “The whole crowd was in it. It was so special to witness that. Hopefully, it’s more times. I had goosebumps a little bit. It was amazing to see in that moment.”
It was also amazing to see what led to that moment.
Reaves punctuated a near triple double (32 points, seven rebounds, six assists) by pulling off something that James called “very difficult.” With the Lakers trailing 118-115 with 3.9 seconds left, Reaves stepped to the free-throw line on a one-and-one. Beforehand, Lakers coach JJ Redick told him to miss the second foul shot intentionally in hopes to grab the rebound for an extra shot.
Reaves almost followed his instructions. After making his first free throw, Reaves missed off the left side of the rim. That worked out perfectly, though. The ball hit off the rim nearly back to Reaves, who then made a baseline floater to tie the game at 118-118 with 1.9 seconds left.
“It’s a very difficult thing because none of us practice to miss free throws,” James said of Reaves’ feat. “No matter what your percentage is, you don’t just practice missing free throws.”
Reaves doesn’t exactly practice it. But he said he has attempted that both in high school and during an off-season scrimmage. Redick also noted Reaves’ strong hand-eye coordination in golf, pickleball, tennis and ping pong.
“It’s not easy,” Reaves said. “I’m just mad I had to mess up my free-throw percentage.”
Reaves was clearly joking. The Lakers have shown lately they care more about winning than stats. Not a coincidence then that James secure a loose ball in the final minute.
James conceded to Redick that he never did such a thing in his 23-year NBA career. Even with Redick anticipating the 41-year-old James will feel lingering pain, he still hustled like a player trying to secure a roster spot. After Nuggets guard Jamal Murray missed a 3, the ball clanked toward the free throw line. Standing underneath the basket, James dove past Nuggets guard Christian Braun and landed on the floor with the ball in his hands.
“All of us have heard it from our coaches when we were little: ‘The first man to the floor usually gets the ball.’” James said. “That’s just my Little League coach in my head at that moment, understanding the significance of it.”
What else is significant: the Lakers won for reasons beyond their three main stars.
After missing Thursday’s game against Chicago with a right hip contusion, Lakers guard Marcus Smart posted 21 points on 8-for-15 shooting and helped limit Murray to a 1-for-14 clip. Lakers center Deandre Ayton added nine points, nine rebounds and occasionally frustrated Nuggets center Nikola Jokić. The Lakers also became impressed with a young kid that cheered intensely on the video board during timeouts.
“He’s the reason that we won tonight,” James joked.
Most importantly, the Lakers won because they prevailed during big-time moments by leaning on their talent, hustle and resiliency. Amid a season full of inconsistent health, effort and execution, the Lakers have become the best version of themselves at just the right time.
“It wasn’t perfect, but they stuck with it,” Redick said. “So the winning plays really stood out, and then just their ability in high pressure situations to execute multiple end-of-game situations was really high level.”
