Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – Luka Doncic sank a baseline jumper with half a second remaining in overtime on Saturday to give the Los Angeles Lakers a dramatic 127-125 NBA victory over Denver for their fifth consecutive triumph. NBA scoring leader Doncic had a triple double with 30 points, 13 assists, and 11 rebounds to foil a triple-double effort by Denver’s Nikola Jokic, who had 24 points, 16 rebounds, and 14 assists.
“This game was very big,” Doncic said. “We’ve still got a long way to the playoffs. We’ve got to approach every game the same way.” The contest only reached overtime because LA’s Austin Reaves, who scored a game-high 32 points, rebounded his own missed free throw and sank a tying basket from the left side with 1.9 seconds to play in regulation.
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“Saw they only had one person on that side, so tried to miss on that side and go make a play,” Reaves said. “I’ve made it once before but not to this magnitude.” The score was deadlocked again late in overtime before Doncic’s closing heroics. “I just wanted to get my shot off,” the Slovenian superstar said. “I saw there was an opening, so I went to the other side. Went to my step back, I’ve worked on this, and trust my shot.”
The Lakers squandered a 17-point lead, then erased an eight-point Denver fourth-quarter advantage and won to stand 42-25, third in the Western Conference, while the Nuggets fell to 41-27, sixth in the West. “That’s the best I’ve ever seen the crowd here,” Doncic said. The Lakers won the season series over Denver, a key tie-breaker edge in the standings if needed.
At San Antonio, Victor Wembanyama delivered an electric all-around performance to lead the Spurs over Charlotte 115-102. Wembanyama scored a game-high 32 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for San Antonio’s 17th victory in 19 games. The 22-year-old, 7-foot-4 (2.24m) French center added eight assists, three blocked shots, and two steals to avenge a January loss at Charlotte.
“That might have been my worst defensive game all year,” Wembanyama said. “So yeah, we had to make a statement today.” The Spurs improved to 49-18, the second-best record in the NBA and only three games behind West leader Oklahoma City. “What’s next is pretty straightforward. We want to win everything,” Wembanyama said. “We’ve got one disadvantage is that we don’t got experience. But that can be an advantage, too, because if we don’t know it’s impossible, we might still do it.”
Wembanyama is mindful of keeping his body healthy for the upcoming post-season and in his quest for personal awards – the NBA Most Valuable Player and NBA Defensive Player of the Year trophies. “In my mind, it’s taking great care of my body because I also want to win the MVP and defensive player of the year,” Wembanyama said. Wembanyama scored four points and added an assist in a 12-0 Spurs run to grab a 104-88 lead with 6:05 remaining.
– Hawks’ streak at nine –
The Atlanta Hawks stretched their win streak to nine games, a run they had not produced since the 2014-15 campaign, by defeating visiting Milwaukee 122-99. Jalen Johnson had a triple double for the Hawks with 23 points, 12 assists, and 10 rebounds while C.J. McCollum scored a game-high 30 points for Atlanta.
Orlando’s win streak reached seven games with a 121-117 victory at Miami, ending the Heat’s win streak at seven behind 27 points by Paolo Banchero and 21 by Desmond Bane. Boston’s Jayson Tatum had 20 points, 14 rebounds, and seven assists while Neemias Queta scored a game-high 24 points to spark the Celtics’ 111-100 victory at Washington, the Wizards’ losing skid reaching 11 games. Philadelphia’s Quentin Grimes scored a season-high 28 points to lead the host 76ers over Brooklyn 104-97.
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