The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Dallas Mavericks 107-104 in overtime (OT) at American Airlines Center on Wednesday to achieve the third straight win.
Undrafted guard Austin Reaves drained the game-winning 3-pointer at 0.9 seconds, making sure that the purple and gold began their three-game road trip with a victory.
"I mean, it's basically been the story of my life," Reaves said. "I've always been underrated. Didn't go to a big high school, so didn't get recruited much, but at the end of the day, you got to produce on the basketball court and for me to hit that shot, for my teammates to have the trust in me to take that shot is very, very special."
Reaves was already 4-5 from downtown before standing open at the right corner. He made two, one, none and one triple in the first, second, third and fourth quarters, respectively. Though his first three attempts did not drop in OT, the Mavericks had no reason to leave him open in almost the last possession of the opponents with a tie score of 104-104.
One of the reasons they did so was the implementation of coach Jason Kidd's defensive plan: close in to protect the paint. Such tactics worked well most of the time as the Lakers only had 34 points under the rim and grabbed no more than four offensive rebounds. That's why the game remained close despite the surprising shooting performance of 15-39 behind the arc by the purple and gold.
However, Russell Westbrook put the Mavericks in a dilemma by making a 3-pointer from the left corner at 0:24 in OT. That was his fourth attempt and the first one made from downtown. The Mavericks were very determined in leaving him open until this moment. Making one 3-pointer didn't make Westbrook a reliable shooter, but it made the defenders wonder: Was he hot enough to make another?
That's why when Westbrook received the ball again at the same place in the next possession, Jalen Brunson had to rush to him, allowing Westbrook to beat him and drive into the paint. That's when the Mavericks invested most of their defensive attention in protecting the paint and left Reaves open in the right corner.
"Throughout the year, there will be ups and downs, but ultimately, when the game's on the line, we have guys in the locker room that can make plays at the end of the game," Westbrook said. "It's a good feeling to know that, looking to the left and looking to the right, that guys can close and finish games when we need to."
Despite the victory, the Lakers should have a lot to reflect on about Wednesday's game. One of them is how they let the game turn so tough while Luka Doncic sat on it. Brunson has been a solid ball-handler but he is not even a qualified starting orchestrator for a playoff team. Nonetheless, the Lakers' perimeter defenders looked like a thin piece of paper to him and allowed him to change their defense too easily.
Not only did Brunson go 8-10 in the paint, he also delivered nine assists exploiting easy drive-and-kick and drive-and-dish. His true shooting percentage of 65 percent was also the highest on the floor.
Graham's 3-pointer takes Pelicans to victory
The New Orleans Pelicans beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 113-110 at Paycom Center on Wednesday after Devonte' Graham and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander exchanged unreasonable 3-pointers.
Though Zion Williamson was still unable to play, Brandon Ingram carried the Pelicans' offense by drawing 15 free throws to put down 34 points and eight rebounds. His efforts plus the dominant double-double of 19 points and 16 rebounds by Jonas Valanciunas gave their team a three-point lead (110-107) when there were only four seconds left.
Alexander had the ball, but he could not shake Garrett Temple completely. Instead, Alexander was only able to shoot like he was throwing a shot put, but the ball fell into the net and tied the game for the Thunder.
There were only 1.4 seconds left and neither side had any timeout left. You could tell that the both the Pelicans and Thunder were ready for OT but Graham didn't. He rushed from the back court, received the ball and took a desperate attempt at 61 feet away from the opponents' hoop.
Graham made the shot, the longest buzzer-beater in 25 years, according to ESPN Stats & Info.
"I just wanted to get one up, honestly," Graham said. "I didn't want to take the ball out. I waited. Then J-Hart (Josh Hart) passed it to me and I just let it fly."
"I thought it was going in," Ingram said. "But when it went in, I was in disbelief."