Lakers’ Reaves and Doncic Orchestrate Thrilling Overtime Victory Against Nuggets
LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Lakers secured a hard-fought 127-125 overtime victory against the Denver Nuggets on Saturday night at Crypto.com Arena, fueled by a remarkable intentional miss by Austin Reaves and a game-winning shot from Luka Doncic.
Reaves’ Calculated Miss Sends Game to Overtime
Trailing 118-116 with just 5.2 seconds remaining in regulation, the Lakers relied on Austin Reaves to strategically miss a free throw. Reaves successfully executed the play, intentionally missing his second free throw attempt, recovering the rebound, and hitting a game-tying floater with 1.9 seconds left on the clock.
“Yeah, it’s the perfect miss,” Lakers forward LeBron James said. “You got to have a perfect miss at that time, and great timing. He was able to hit it off that left side of the rim, recover it, and then still make a tough floater. Perfect execution on his part.”1
Reaves explained the strategic thinking behind the play, noting the Nuggets had previously fouled him with a three-point lead, making a traditional three-point attempt challenging. He believed intentionally missing the free throw and attempting to regain possession offered the best chance for a tie.
“So it’s kind of tough to play the foul game because you make the free throw, you’re down one, you’re basically banking on them missing a free throw because you’re going to have to take it the full length of the court,” Reaves said. “And the easiest time to foul when you’re up three is when you got to travel full court. You got to dribble the ball full court, so I think with how the time situation was with five seconds, it was just kind of a no-brainer.”1
Although acknowledging the difficulty of intentionally missing a free throw, Reaves revealed he had practiced the technique previously, focusing on keeping the ball low to avoid accidentally making the shot.
Doncic Seals the Victory in Overtime
Following Reaves’ clutch play, Luka Doncic delivered the game-winning shot in overtime, breaking a 125-125 tie with a jumper with just 0.5 seconds remaining.
Doncic finished the game with a triple-double, recording 30 points, 13 assists, and 11 rebounds. This marked his seventh 30-point triple-double of the season and the 55th of his career.3
“I felt like it was the best atmosphere since I’ve been a Laker,” Doncic told reporters after the game. “The whole crowd was into it and was really special to witness that.”3
Lakers Continue Winning Streak
The Lakers’ victory extends their winning streak to five games and improves their record to 42-25, positioning them as a strong contender in the Western Conference. 3
In addition to Doncic’s standout performance, Austin Reaves contributed 32 points, seven rebounds, and six assists, while LeBron James added 17 points, six rebounds, and five assists. Marcus Smart likewise scored 21 points.
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