With three weeks until his 39th birthday, LeBron James was the greatest player on the court on Tuesday night in a single-elimination match that also included Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant, and Devin Booker. In the closing seconds at Crypto.com Arena, the Los Angeles Lakers managed to fend off the Phoenix Suns thanks to a fortunate missed call by the officials.
But the highlight of the purple-and-gold team’s hard-fought 106-103 victory over the Suns in the in-season tournament quarterfinals won’t be a momentous official play call or a future Hall-of-Famer. Why? With 15 seconds left, Austin Reaves made an incredible step-back three-pointer to put Los Angeles ahead by four points.
Lakers fans were giddy with anticipation, praising Reaves for yet another clutch performance.
For the Lakers, Reaves was excellent coming off the bench. He scored 20 points in just 27 minutes, which led to a team-high +17 plus-minus. James set a game-high 31 points, tying Kevin Durant, and stuffed the stat sheet with eight rebounds, eleven assists, and five steals. Anthony Davis, who struggled from the field but still managed to score 27 points and grab six of his 15 rebounds on the оffensive glass, was a major contributor to his team’s trip to Las Vegas.
What will the Lakers do next? A Thursday night in Sin City matchup versus the New Orleans Pelicans in the in-season tournament semifinals. Now that they’re almost fully recovered, the Pelicans are ready to give Los Angeles a serious figҺt. The Lakers’ fan base, however, travels to Vegas better than any other, so expect Reaves, James, Davis, and company to feel completely at home in T-Mobile Arena—especially with the NBA Cup on the line.