LOS ANGELES — With the Lakers reeling from a three-game slide, a calf injury to Austin Reaves and an air-it-out team meeting coming into Sunday’s game against the Sacramento Kings, LeBron James and Luka Doncic led L.A. to a dominant 125-101 win to stabilize things a bit.
“I don’t want to create the narrative of [just] me and Luka,” James said. “It’s five guys on the floor and seven guys that come off the bench. It needs to be all of us. [But] it’s important that we set the tone.”
James went 3-for-3 in the first three minutes of the game, a bit of foreshadowing for what ended up as his most efficient night as a Laker, according to ESPN Insights. He shot 11-for-13 from the field, with his 84.6% field goal percentage not only representing his best as a Laker, but third best of his 23-year career.
“I just felt in a really good rhythm tonight,” James said. “Had a good spring to my step, to my bounce and just tried to make the most out of my touches.”
While James did most of his damage in the opening frame, Doncic handled the bulk of the scoring in the second quarter, when he put up 15 of his game-high 34 points and went 5-for-7 from the floor.
“I think it definitely starts with us,” Doncic said. “And when AR is back, it’s going to be all three of us. But now, it starts with us. We need to show what we can do and if we are going to do it, we both are going to do it. The group is going to follow.”
Lakers coach JJ Redick said that it was a carryover for the two from Saturday’s practice.
“I’m not surprised at the way those two guys played together tonight, because yesterday was one of the best practices we’ve had with the two of them playing together and just sharing the basketball and playing two-man action,” Redick said.
L.A. led 68-53 at halftime and nearly doubled that lead in the first 3½ minutes of the third quarter when it used a 13-2 run out of the break to take over the game with defense.
“There were a couple possessions in that 13-2 run where we just started with a with a five guys guarding mentality, and that’s really what we’re after,” Redick said. “We really just want five guys at all times, on every possession, engaged. That’s sort of the North Star of how we try to build a good defense.”
Following Thursday’s dispirited 119-96 loss to the Houston Rockets — an embarrassing effort on the NBA’s Christmas Day stage — the team was informed Friday that Reaves will be sidelined at least four weeks while he recovers from a pulled calf muscle in his left leg.
Then came Saturday’s team meeting and a rare, lengthy practice that Redick vowed would be “uncomfortable,” but turned into more of what the coach described as an idea exchange between coaches and players to find clarity for everyone involved. And after that, an even rarer morning shootaround on Sunday – something that almost never happens with an early, 6:30 p.m. PT tipoff.
In their first chance to walk the walk, the Lakers responded with a top-to-bottom effort.
Deandre Ayton had a double-double (11 points, 11 rebounds). Rui Hachimura scored 12 points on 5-for-10 shooting after only receiving six or fewer shots in three of his previous four games. Jake LaRavia contributed 11 points, four assists and two steals off the bench.
And Nick Smith Jr., signed to a two-way contract, went 7-for-7 to start the game en route to scoring 21 points in 24 minutes and being presented with the game ball by the team.
“In this league, you got to have confidence. If you don’t, they’ll go out there and see it right away,” Smith said. “I feel like I can hoop with the best of them.”
In another sign of the complete effort, for the first time all season, the Lakers won all four quarters.
“We came together, talked about some things,” LaRavia said. “And if we play like this every night, this is what I talk about when we say, we’re a tough team to beat.”
Sunday also marked the last game James will play before his 41st birthday on Tuesday, putting a close to a remarkable year of basketball as a 40-year-old. In 56 regular-season games between the end of last season and the start of this one, James averaged 23.9 points on 52% with 7.4 assists and 7.1 rebounds.
“[Remember] when I did the Father Time commercial thing [for Nike]?” James said. “I’m in a battle with him. And I would like to say that I’m kicking his ass on the back nine.”