This is the 11th time in 55 games this season that the Lakers have played Luka Doncic, LeBron James and Austin Reeves on the same court.
They are the core of the Lakers and the engine that drives the team forward, but health issues have prevented them from playing too many games together. Doncic, Reeves and James led the Lakers to a 125-122 victory over the Clippers at Crypto.com Arena on Friday night in the first game after the All-Star break.
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Doncic, who missed the first four games with a hamstring injury, had 38 points, 11 assists and six rebounds. Reeves scored 29 points and 6 rebounds and made an outstanding defensive performance late in the game. James had 13 points and 11 assists, his fifth consecutive game with 10 or more assists.
Lakers guard Austin Reeves celebrates after fouling Clippers guard Benedict Maturin in the fourth quarter. (Gina Ferrazzi/Los Angeles Times)
Leading 118-115 with 1:49 left, Reeves charged on Bennedict Mathurin, which was the Clippers’ star sixth man’s sixth foul and sent him to the bench with 26 points.
With 21.2 seconds left in the game, Doncic made two free throws and the Lakers led by 5 points.
Read more: Luka Doncic and LeBron James agree most important factor for Lakers moving forward
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With his team leading 125-122, James passed the ball to Doncic in the final seconds, but it was intercepted by Nicolas Batum. But Batum missed a potential tying three-pointer, and James grabbed the rebound to seal the victory.
The Lakers (34-21) put two defenders on Kawhi Leonard from the start, allowing a group of defenders to surround the Clippers’ best offensive weapon, especially when running a zone defense.
Leonard was originally playing for the Lakers, but he left the game late in the fourth quarter with left ankle soreness and scored 31 points on 11-for-19 shooting.
Lakers head coach JJ Redick said before the game that Leonard has once again become the main force on both ends of the court. That’s why much of the Lakers’ game plan is focused on trying to slow down Leonard, who ranks eighth in the league in points (27.8) and tied for first in steals (2.0).
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Read more: Kawhi Leonard and LeBron James shine at All-Star Game in Los Angeles, but young legs prevail
“He’s more committed now to taking on tougher assignments, and he’s back to being an elite two-way player on both ends of the floor,” Redick said. “You know, he’s been as good as anybody in the NBA over the last two months, no matter what the starting point is, but it’s really been on both sides of the ball.”
Leonard is the main reason the Clippers (27-29) are still pushing the score to .500 despite trading two of the Clippers’ top three scorers, guard James Harden and center Ivica Zubac.
The Clippers started the year with a 6-21 record and looked nothing like a playoff team. But then they beat the Lakers on Dec. 20 and entered Friday night’s game with a 21-7 record, within two months of getting within .500 in a game.
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Head coach Tyronn Lue said before the game that no one on the Clippers is giving up on the season, adding that they are always “playing to win” regardless of whether they have “young, old or young children” on the floor.
“I just feel confident,” Lue said. “I just have confidence in our players, I have confidence in our coaching staff, I have confidence in the environment and the culture that we have set up. Why wouldn’t we want to compete to win? That’s our mentality. That’s my mentality every night. No matter how tough the situation is or you start 6-21, no matter what the situation is, you play to win. So, we get into the playoffs and anything can happen. So our goal is to get to the playoffs. I don’t know why anyone would scoff at that.”
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This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.
