LOS ANGELES — The Lakers willed their way to victory behind LeBron James and a career-high scoring night from Austin Reaves, surviving the Brooklyn Nets 102-101 on Friday night without Anthony Davis.
"Both him [Reaves] and LeBron willed us to a win… we weren't very good tonight,” head coach JJ Redick said.
The Lakers win improves their record to 22-17, remaining sixth in the Western Conference, and 14-6 this season at Crypto.com Arena.
Here are some takeaways from the Lakers win over the Nets:
Reaves’ Career Scoring Night
Reaves’ knack for getting to the foul line, crafty buckets, and timely 3’s got the momentum going on offense in the second quarter, scoring 12 points in the quarter, as the Lakers outscored the Nets 27-22.
Reaves would continue his offensive spark in the second half, hitting three of his four 3s in the second half and pouring in 15 points in the fourth quarter. He finished with a career-high 38 points on 56.5%, 13-for-23, shooting from the field and four-of-eight from behind the arc.
The 26-year-old guard acknowledged missing his last three shots in the final minute that would have iced the game, saying, “That’s not acceptable.”
Reaves and James (29 points, eight assists, seven rebounds), who scored 10 points on a perfect four-for-four shooting in the fourth quarter, combined for 67 of the Lakers 102 points.
Slow Second half
The Lakers went into halftime with a six-point (51-45) lead and solid momentum behind a big second quarter from Reaves. A slow second-half start stalled the Lakers' offense, with the Nets going on an 8-3 run to start the third quarter as L.A. went four minutes without hitting a field goal.
The score would continue neck and neck as the Lakers couldn't break away their lead behind 12 3-pointers in the second half by Brooklyn, nine of which came in the fourth quarter.
The Nets finished shooting 44.7% from 3-point range on 17 made 3’s.
The Nets had a winning opportunity on the final possession in a 102-101 score game in the hands of recently traded D’Angelo Russell. Russell's chance for revenge would come up short as his attempted 3 would clank the back iron after creating nice separation from Max Christie on the left wing.
Russell finished with a team-high 19 points and five made 3s while also notching eight assists and six rebounds.
Caution Kept Davis Out
As a precaution, the Lakers ruled Davis (plantar fasciitis) out 30 minutes before tip-off as Redick confirmed his left ankle was sore in pregame.
This is the third game Davis has missed this season due to injury, playing in 36 games where he’s averaged 25.8 points and 11.9 rebounds.
Redick expects both Davis and Dorian Finney-Smith, who has missed the past two games due to the birth of his son, to be ready in their next matchup on Sunday against the Clippers.
Next Game
The Lakers will be visitors for the first time in 25 years as they travel south to face the Clippers in the new Intuit Dome on Sunday (Jan. 17) at 6 p.m. The Clippers are riding a three-game win streak as they sit 23-17 in fifth place in the West.