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Disjointed or error-prone basketball could be forgiven on a night like Thursday – and Redick started with a perceived truth as he attempted to rally the troops during an early-game timeout “I know y’all are tired,” Redick said, according to guard Austin Reaves, who shared the internal dynamics of a Lakers huddle after the game Thursday night. “I’m not tired,” James fired back.
“I was like, ‘I’m not tired either,’” Reaves recalled. “Follow the leader; that goes along with the belief that we’re talking about. “It’s a beautiful thing to have (James) as one of the leaders of this team, because if there’s anybody in the world that could take games off, mentally not be there in a film session, practice, whatever it might be, it could be him, and that’s not how he’s wired. So, yeah, I think he’s insane.”
The players huddled in the locker room after Wednesday’s game before the coaches entered and decided they would all play against Miami (38-32). “When he said he was playing, I was like, I can’t let a 41-year-old play and I not play,” said Reaves, who battled through a bruise on his shooting wrist to finish with 18 points. “So [I] signed up to play and so did Luka and we went and grinded the win out.” Doncic, one night after scoring 40 points with 10 assists, was showered with “MVP” chants in the fourth quarter as he became the ninth Laker with multiple 50-point performances in a single-season. He scored 51 points in a win over the Chicago Bulls on March 12.
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Dave McMenamin: JJ Redick says LeBron James and Luka Doncic will play tonight in Miami. Austin Reaves remains a gametime decision.
Dave McMenamin: Reaves will also play, per the Lakers.
Anthony Chiang: The Lakers are listing LeBron James (foot arthritis), Luka Doncic (hip soreness) and Austin Reaves (forearm contusion) as questionable for tonight vs. Heat. Heat has formally ruled out Jaime Jaquez Jr (hip). Bam Adebayo is available.
When asked to define what James’ role is on the team, ahead of the final 15 games of the regular season, Redick said it’s still about finding the groove between James, Doncic and Reaves. But James, when it comes to scoring, is third on the totem pole. In the 13 games since the All-Star Game, Doncic has averaged 32.7 points, Reaves has averaged 21.1 and James (who has played in 10 of the games) has averaged 18.7. “He’s still going to be, and still has been, a high-usage player relative to your average player,” Redick said of James. “The best thing for our team is being the third-highest-used player, you know, and obviously there’s been stretches of the year where he’s had to do more with injuries or guys being out of lineup. “And I think finding a rhythm and a groove within, you know, the rotations and lineups when those three guys play, and I think that’s been the challenge for all of them, not just LeBron, all season.”
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Benjamin Royer: Right as Austin Reaves was about to answer a question from @LakersReporter about the defensive effort, Luka Doncic chimed in on what made the Lakers successful tonight: "Luka was locking shit up," he said. Reaves responded: "That was it. That was it. He gets all the credit."
NBA Communications: Other nominees… West: Devin Booker (PHX), DeMar DeRozan (SAC), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (OKC), Kawhi Leonard (LAC), Austin Reaves (LAL) and Victor Wembanyama (SAS) East: Paolo Banchero and Desmond Bane (ORL), Jalen Brunson (NYK), Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren (DET), Brandon Ingram (TOR) and Jalen Johnson (ATL)
Dave McMenamin: The Last Two Minutes Report for Lakers-Nuggets determined that Austin Reaves should not have been awarded two free throws with 9.2 seconds remaining in regulation, ruling that Spencer Jones had a clean strip.
The Last Two Minutes Report for Lakers-Nuggets determined that Austin Reaves should not have been awarded two free throws with 9.2 seconds remaining in regulation, ruling that Spencer Jones had a clean strip. pic.twitter.com/BtENE3kbCd
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) March 15, 2026
Protecting a 118-115 lead, Denver intentionally fouled Austin Reaves with 5.2 seconds left in regulation Saturday night. It was properly executed, a low-risk foul while Austin Reaves’ back was to the basket so that he couldn’t feasibly go into a shooting motion. The Lakers guard stepped to the line for only two free throws — decidedly not enough to tie the game. Or so the Nuggets thought. The one thing that could go wrong did go wrong. “That’s one in 100 in the NBA,” coach David Adelman said after a 127-125 overtime loss. “It happened. You give them credit.” Reaves made the first free throw then intentionally missed the second, launching a bullet off the front of the rim. The ball caromed to the left, beyond the reach of Denver’s two players stationed on the low blocks, and Reaves chased down his own rebound. Collecting the ball in stride, he buried a game-tying baseline runner with 1.9 seconds left to force overtime and eventually steal the season series from Denver. “I mean, it’s a really good play. A perfect bounce,” a frustrated Nikola Jokic told The Denver Post. “He got the ball off his rebound. He made a floater.”
