The biggest news for the Lakers on Thursday was that All-Star guard Luka Doncic was unable to play in the second half against the Philadelphia 76ers because of left leg soreness, the team announced in the third quarter.
Doncic left the game in the second quarter of the Lakers’ 119-115 win at Crypto.com Arena.
The Lakers were undaunted by Doncic’s departure, coming back from 14 points down and holding on for the win by following the lead of Austin Reaves, LeBron James, Rui Hachimura and a strong defensive effort led by Marcus Smart and Jarred Vanderbilt.
Lakers forward Maxi Kleber dunks in front of 76ers forward Trendon Watford at Crypto.com on Thursday.
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
After the game in which Reaves led the Lakers in scoring with 35 points off the bench, the biggest concern for the Lakers was the health of Doncic.
“He felt some soreness in his hamstring so he didn’t feel like it was good enough to go back in [and] neither did [our medical team,] ” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “So, we held him out and they [are] going to do some imaging. It’s too early to say if there’s an injury, but [he] just had a sore hamstring.”
Reaves, playing in his second game after coming back from a left calf strain, scored 13 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter. His back-to-back three-pointers and two free throws to open the fourth quarter gave the Lakers a six-point lead they never lost. His three-pointer later in the quarter gave the Lakers a 13-point advantage that grew to 16 late in the game.
“It’s always the first like four minutes of the game when you haven’t been playing too much [that] you get tired fast,” Reaves said. “And then after that, your second-wind kicks in, the adrenaline kicks in [during a] game like tonight and then you just focus on trying to win the game.”
Reaves did all his damage in 25 minutes off the bench.
“We’re just going to keep him on a 25-minutes limit if he’s going to score 35,” Redick joked. “He was unbelievable tonight. His drives — I know he made threes tonight and hit a couple that were pretty incredible — but his drives and his thrust. … He got to the free-throw line. He got in the paint and made plays and scored at the rim. It was great to see.”
James had 17 points and 10 assists, while Hachimura, who started the third quarter in place of Doncic, had 14 points off the bench, including the game-sealing basket with 12.3 seconds left. Hachimura helped the Lakers stay the course after their lead was trimmed to two points with 27 seconds left.
Doncic tried to throw a pass to Maxi Kleber that resulted in a turnover with about 3:45 left in the second quarter. Doncic turned to run back up the court and grabbed the back of his left leg. Doncic went up and down the court several times, grimacing in pain. When Redick called a timeout with 3:03 left, Doncic stayed on the court bent over. He gingerly walked to the bench and then to the locker room.
Doncic had 10 points, four rebounds and two assists. He entered the game leading the NBA in scoring, averaging 33.4 points, and second in assists, averaging 8.7.
The Lakers wrapped up 16 days on the road, playing eight games that started in Denver last month and ended in Brooklyn against the Nets on Tuesday night. The Lakers returned home to play the surging 76ers.
The home team’s test not only was facing a 76ers team on a five-game win streak, but also finding the energy to keep pace. Redick said he hoped his team got “plenty of sleep” before playing Thursday night.
Reaves returned Tuesday after he missed 19 straight games because of a left hamstring strain. After he played 25 minutes in that game, Redick said Reaves was “good.”
“No issues and we’ll get a little more minutes allocated to him, just over the restriction,” Redick said.
The Lakers announced during the third quarter that they acquired shooting guard Luke Kennard from the Atlanta Hawks for Gabe Vincent and a 2032 second-round draft pick.
The Lakers love that Kennard’s shooting can create space on the court for Doncic, James and Reaves. Kennard, a 6-foot-5 guard, is shooting an NBA-best 49.7% from three-point range over 46 games, all off the bench. He has shot 44.2% from three-point range during his nine-year career.
Kennard is averaging 7.9 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists and shooting 53.8% from the field.
The Lakers (31-19) next play Saturday at Golden State.
“I talked to him a little bit at halftime,” Reaves said of Doncic. “I walked by him and asked him if he was OK. He kind of just looked at me and I had to go play. So, hopefully nothing major. We need him. He’s our best player and the engine of a lot of the stuff that we do. Yeah, so, hopefully we get good news tomorrow and I wish him nothing but the best.”
This story originally appeared on LA Times
