Despite 56 combined points from Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, and a near triple-double from LeBron James, the Los Angeles Lakers saw their nine-game win streak come to an end at the hands of the Detroit Pistons.
Despite the loss, however, this win streak showed that the Lakers are a team that can compete with the league’s best teams and will be a contender in the postseason. And after the win streak came to an end, James praised the mental toughness the Lakers showed throughout, via Dave McMenamin of ESPN:
“Just our mental toughness,” James said when asked what winning habits the team has developed. “There were a couple games where we got down; a couple games that we got up; teams made a run, took leads and we were able to stay resilient and come back. So we’re a tough-minded [group]. Even with tonight, we got down again versus a very good team on their home floor. Obviously they had probably been waiting on this matchup.”
As LeBron noted, the Lakers trailed by 16 in the third quarter against the Pistons, but trimmed that down to just two points heading into the fourth and even took the lead in the final minute. Unfortunately, they just weren’t able to get that final stop they needed.
But the Lakers showed resiliency and mental toughness throughout the win streak. In particular, the victories against the Orlando Magic and Denver Nuggets saw them trailing late, but figuring out a way to come out on top. The Lakers also trailed by double-figures against the Miami Heat, but would not lie down, even on the second night of a back-to-back.
Obviously the Lakers weren’t going to go undefeated for the remainder of the season, but this team has shown some traits that should serve them well going into the playoffs. What has become clear is that these Lakers will fight every single night and with the star power they have, led by James and Doncic, that makes them a very dangerous team in the postseason.
LeBron James praises Austin Reaves
Of course, another important piece to the Lakers’ success has been the play of Austin Reaves who has grown into an All-Star level player over the course of his career and LeBron James has been his teammate for the entirety of his career. And the superstar recently revealed what he first saw in Reaves when he came into the league.
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