At some point, this Lakers win streak will come to an end (I think) and, for a good chunk of the game, Thursday looked like it would be the night.
But the guttiness this team showed in the fourth quarter will make this one of the most memorable wins of the season. The defense tightened up, some huge shots were made by multiple people and, in the end, the Lakers did just enough in overtime to win.
After winning in style on Tuesday, the Lakers had to win by grinding things out and gutting out a victory.
What a night. What a performance.
So, let’s dive into the win. As always, grades are based on expectations for each player. A “B” grade represents the average performance for that player.
Dorian Finney-Smith
40 minutes, 2 points, 5 rebounds, 1 steal, 1-5 FG, 0-3 3PT, +14
Well DFS is really in a shooting slump, no matter how many butt-naked wide-open 3-pointers he’s getting. Over the last six games, he’s shooting 7-26 from range.
And yet, he finishes this game a +14. He’s still playing solid defense and still doing the small things that lead to winning basketball. But making a couple more shots wouldn’t hurt either.
Grade: B
LeBron James
44 minutes, 31 points, 12 rebounds, 8 assists, 1 block, 11-23 FG, 2-8 3PT, 7-8 FT, +4
I thought there were a couple of times LeBron was a little too passive, typically when it came to shooting 3-pointers versus passing to teammates. But those decisions also often resulted in a made 3-pointer, to be fair.
Regardless, he hit some big shots, grabbed some big rebounds, set up a big 3-pointer for Vincent and helped get some big defensive stops.
Grade: A-
Jaxson Hayes
34 minutes, 8 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks, 3-5 FG, 2-2 FT, +5
I’m of two minds when it comes to Jaxson’s game on Thursday.
On one hand, I found myself wanting to close with him early in the fourth quarter and felt that he was playing solid on both sides of the ball while certainly being better than the other options.
On the other hand, it felt like every big basket the Knicks got late in the fourth and overtime were a result of a Hayes foul. I have no idea why he challenged OG Anunoby on the late drive to the rim in overtime. And Hayes had him in a blender multiple times.
But, overall, this was a good showing from him and he played a big role in the win.
Grade: B+
Austin Reaves
32 minutes, 8 points, 6 rebounds, 2-13 FG, 1-7 3PT, 3-4 FT, -7
Nice of Austin to dress in uniform tonight and get some cardio in before Saturday’s game in Boston.
He did hit a big 3-pointer in overtime. That was the entirety of the positives from him.
Grade: D+
Luka Dončić
43 minutes, 32 points, 7 rebounds, 12 assists, 4 steals, 9-23 FG, 4-12 3PT, 10-12 FT, +16
There are still “pinch me” moments when it comes to Luka being a Laker and the start of overtime was one of them. His 3-pointer over KAT that forced a timeout was an absolutely enormous shot and put the Lakers in control from the jump over the extra session.
It wasn’t a flawless night but it was still a huge performance from him.
Grade: A-
Jarred Vanderbilt
17 minutes, 2 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block, 1-3 FG, 0-1 3PT, -11
This was very much not a Vando game. He did not make much of an impact early on and struggled to get himself into the game. As a result, he didn’t feature much in the fourth and only came in once Hayes fouled out.
Grade: C-
Dalton Knecht
21 minutes, 11 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 4-8 FG, 3-7 3PT, -1
This was much more of a Knecht game, as have been many recent games. He’s really finding his footing again.
The defense is just not going to be there this season and he still regularly gets lost on that end. But he can still compete on the ball and if he’s knocking down shots, then he deserves to keep getting playing time.
Grade: B+
Gabe Vincent
22 minutes, 12 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 4-5 FG, 4-4 3PT, +2
Have yourself a night, Gabe Vincent.
A game like this would have never felt possible even earlier this year. But this is exactly the player the team wanted when they signed Vincent. His fourth quarter was unbelievable. Not only was he knocking down shots, he was knocking down some huge pressure shots.
Grade: A+
Trey Jemison III
13 minutes, 7 points, 4 rebounds, 3-4 FG, 1-2 FT, -2
Honestly, I’m pretty surprised by this stat line because Jemison was a bit all over the place in this one. The game felt like it was moving a bit too fast for him, which explains why he played the fewest minutes on the team.
Grade: C+
JJ Redick
Redick has a really good feel for what lineups to go to late in games. Between Reaves coming back from injury and Rui Hachimura being out, he’s had to mix and match lineups and he’s gotten it right basically every time.
He also did a great job blitzing Jalen Brunson in the final possession of regulation and forcing someone else to beat them, which the Knicks couldn’t do.
Grade: A
Thursday’s DNPs: Bronny James, Alex Len, Shake Milton, Cam Reddish
Thursday’s inactive: Christian Koloko, Jordan Goodwin, Markieff Morris, Maxi Kleber, Rui Hachimura
