Luka Doncic and Lakers hold off Clippers after Kawhi Leonard exits late
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- Lakers’ Doncic scores 38 points as his rare pairing with James and Reaves delivers a 125-122 victory over the Clippers on Friday.
- Injuries have limited the trio to 11 games together this season, making their first game since the All-Star break a welcome return.
- Despite losing Kawhi Leonard to ankle soreness, the Clippers nearly completed a rally in a thrilling Crypto.com Arena showdown.
For just the 11th time in 55 games this season, the Lakers had Luka Doncic, LeBron James and Austin Reaves sharing the court.
They are the core of the Lakers, the engines that make this team go, but health issues have prevented them from playing together far too often. In their first game since the All-Star break, Doncic, Reaves and James carried the Lakers to a 125-122 win over the Clippers on Friday night at Crypto.com Arena.
Doncic had 38 points, 11 assists and six rebounds and did some trash-talking with Clippers defensive stalwart Kris Dunn.
Reaves did his part with 29 points on efficient nine-for-15 shooting. He also had six rebounds and a key defensive play late in the game.
And James had 13 points and 11 assists, his fifth consecutive game with 10 or more assists. He also was playing with a sore left knee and a migraine.
They got help from Marcus Smart, who scored all seven of his points in the fourth quarter and played his typical tough defense, and Deandre Ayton, who had 13 points, seven rebounds and a highlight on a lob from James that he threw down for a dunk over Clippers center Brook Lopez late in the fourth quarter.
But this game was all about Doncic, Reaves and James, who are trying to build more chemistry in the second half of the season.
“It’s good. I hear this question every day. So, I always answer the same,” Doncic said. “You know, obviously we didn’t play a lot together, but chemistry is going to grow and grow.”
The Clippers kept chipping away at the Lakers’ lead late in the game despite Kawhi Leonard leaving with 5:10 left because of left ankle soreness.
Though Leonard departed with 31 points on 11-for-19 shooting, four for six on three-pointers and five for five on free throws, the Clippers didn’t back down.
But in what Lakers coach JJ Redick called the play of the game with 1:49 left and the Lakers leading 118-115, Reaves drew a charge on Clippers guard Bennedict Mathurin. It was Mathurin’s sixth foul and it sent him to the bench with 26 points.
“Marcus did a good job. He stabbed at the ball. I think Mathurin kind of got off balance and I saw an opportunity to make a winning play,” Reaves said. “I actually don’t mind taking charges because I can’t jump and block a shot, so my only chance is to take a charge.”
Doncic made two free throws with 21.2 seconds left to give the Lakers (34-21) a five-point lead. But the Clippers (27-29) still weren’t giving up.
How good the Lakers can be in the second half of the season depends on this one very important factor.
With a 125-122 lead and the ball in the closing seconds, James threw a dangerous cross-court pass intended for Doncic that Nicolas Batum stole. But Batum missed a potential tying three-pointer, and James got the rebound to secure the win.
James then explained how his knee was feeling after practice Thursday.
“It happened at practice yesterday during our scrimmage,” James said. “I went up for a dunk, came down pretty good, but a couple minutes into the scrimmage after that, it started getting a little sore, started getting a little tight.”
James still played 33 minutes Friday. His time on the court allowed the Lakers’ trio of stars to develop some much-needed chemistry.
“Every game, every second, every minute that we’re on the floor together, it helps,” James said. “... We don’t know what we’re going to be until we get fully healthy and tonight was one of the first games where JJ and the coaching staff can look down and know everybody was available.
“So, we just got to keep pushing. We got to keep pushing. We got a tough [Boston] team coming in on Sunday. Obviously, a lifetime NBA rivalry, so we got to be ready for them. They’re playing great basketball too.”
Doncic played only five minutes for Team World in the All-Star Game on Sunday and missed the Lakers’ previous four games because of a hamstring strain. But he played almost 38 minutes against the Clippers.
“It wasn’t bad,” Doncic said of his hamstring. “I got treatment after the game. But I felt good.”
LeBron James focused on bonding with teammates from around the league and figuring out a new All-Star Game format, passing on talk about his future.
Late in the fourth quarter, after Doncic scored on Dunn and was fouled by the Clippers guard, Doncic glared.
“Obviously we have a history before,” Doncic said. “So, I think it was another part of the game. So, I think maybe because of that.”
Doncic was asked how he stays focused when players talk trash to him.
“Just, I always talk back,” Doncic said. “Just trying to score best and win the game.”
