Certain players throughout the NBA just have an ability to understand the stage and moment and really step their game up in those times. For the Los Angeles Lakers on Christmas Day, the two players who understood that assignment were LeBron James and Austin Reaves.
With Anthony Davis leaving the game early with a sprained ankle, the pressure was on James and Reaves to carry the Lakers and they did just that. LeBron finished with 31 points and 10 assists while Reaves had a 26-point triple-double and hit the game-winning layup with one second left for the win over the Golden State Warriors.
For LeBron in his 22nd season, going up against his longtime rival Stephen Curry on one of the biggest days of the year for the NBA, the all-time great went to another level. And Reaves praised his Lakers teammate for really understanding when he needs to lock in and give the Lakers everything he can, via NBA.com:
“He was unbelievable tonight. Doing everything, he had 31 and 10, controlled the game for most of the game. But like you said, he knows when it’s a big opportunity to continue to show the world that he’s still one of the greatest players in today’s game as well as ever. So he knows better than anybody when he really, really needs to lock in and do what he does and it’s just good to have that on our team. We’ve seen it since he’s come back from missing that game or two and he’s been nothing but great, locked in and energy’s been great.”
That time off really seems to have helped LeBron as he has come back with a different level of energy and the Lakers are thankful for it. Against the Warriors, James did everything as he wasn’t just locked in offensively, but also defensively with his communication and effort.
It’s unreasonable to expect LeBron to be able to do the things he does every single night at this stage of his career. But as Reaves noted, he understands the stage and when it’s time to flip that switch and on Christmas Day he did just that to lead the Lakers to a win.
Lakers’ Austin Reaves says game-winning layup was meant for LeBron James
LeBron James was locked in, but with the game on the line the ball was in the hand of Austin Reaves. But of course it wasn’t meant to be that way.
The Lakers guard made it clear after the game that the play was drawn up for LeBron, but the Warriors did everything in their power to make sure he didn’t get the ball. That put the pressure on Reaves who came through with the layup to lift the Lakers to victory.
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