Luka Doncic sank a baseline jumper with half a second remaining in overtime to give the Los Angeles Lakers a dramatic 127-125 NBA victory over the Denver Nuggets for their fifth consecutive triumph.
Doncic had a triple double with 30 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds in a game that also saw Denver’s Nikola Jokic record a triple double with 24 points, 16 rebounds and 14 assists.
“This game was very big,” Doncic said. “We’ve still got a long way to the playoffs. We’ve got to approach every game the same way.”
The Lakers’ Austin Reaves, who scored a game-high 32 points, forced overtime after he rebounded his own missed free throw and sank a tying basket with 1.9 seconds to play in regulation.
"Saw they only had one person on that side so tried to miss on that side and go make a play," Reaves said. "I've made it once before but not to this magnitude."
The score was deadlocked again late in overtime before Doncic's closing heroics. "I just wanted to get my shot off," the Slovenian superstar said. "I saw there was an opening so I went to the other side. Went to my step back, I've worked on this, and trust my shot."
The Lakers squandered a 17-point lead then erased an eight-point Denver fourth-quarter advantage.
The result the Lakers on 42-25, third in the Western Conference, while the Nuggets fell to 41-27, sixth in the conference. The Lakers won the season series over Denver, a key tie-breaker edge in the standings if needed.
Elsewhere, Victor Wembanyama delivered an electric all-around performance to lead the San Antonio Spurs over the visiting Charlotte Hornet 115-102.
Wembanyama scored a game-high 32 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for San Antonio's 17th victory in 19 games. The 22-year-old French center added eight assists, three blocked shots and two steals.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
