LOS ANGELES — With just inside three minutes to play and the San Antonio Spurs holding on to a 112-110 lead, Los Angeles Lakers point guard Luka Dončić used a DeAndre Ayton screen in the middle of the floor. Spurs center Victor Wembanyama was waiting for Dončić below the free-throw line, while Doncic had Spurs defender Stephon Castle on his back. As Ayton rolled into the paint to engage Wembanyama, Dončić started to retreat to the 3-point line, just as Castle got himself back in front of Dončić.
It was too late for Castle. Dončić was stepping back for a go-ahead 3-pointer, a shot that represented the final lead change of a game the Spurs had led 94-82 with 1:26 left in the third quarter.
Despite missing 18 of 27 shots, Dončić led all scorers with 35 points and added game-highs of 13 assists and five steals in a 118-116 Lakers win. The teams combined for 66 personal fouls and 84 free throw attempts, and Wembanyama was one of three Spurs disqualified with six fouls — the first time that the Spurs had three players foul out of a game since November 1997.
The game lasted two hours and 54 minutes, and came down to the final seconds as Marcus Smart committed an inbound violation with 1.2 seconds remaining and Jake LaRavia fouled Julian Champagnie with 0.4 seconds remaining. But Champagnie missed both free throws, allowing the Lakers to escape without overtime.
“It was a lot of whistles,” said Dončić, who had five fouls but made 13 of 17 free throws in a game-high 41:37. “We won the game, so I guess I like it. It stops a lot of the game, probably for the fans it’s not the best. But like I said, at the end of the game, we won. So I like that.”
The Lakers’ win gave them a 7-2 record, good for second place in the Western Conference behind the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder. And that’s despite the fact that the Lakers used what was already their seventh starting lineup of the season: Dončić, Ayton, power forward Rui Hachimura, shooting guard Marcus Smart, and small forward Jake LaRavia.
This time last year, the Lakers hadn’t had a single starting lineup change. But with star forward LeBron James out for the start of this season due to right side sciatica and shooting guard Austin Reaves missing his second straight game with right groin soreness, Lakers head coach JJ Redick had his first game with Dončić but without Reaves. The Lakers have now won games this season with both Doncic and Reaves, just Reaves without Doncic, neither Reaves or Dončić, and now Dončić without Reaves.
“Yeah, I told you guys you were obsessed with the wrong thing during preseason,” said Redick, who noted in September that he had a starting lineup entering training camp last year that lasted only seven games before he used 24 others in his first season as a NBA head coach. “This is just the reality of the NBA. There’s going to be so many soft tissue injuries. This is the reality of the NBA. We’re going to start the group that makes the most sense for that night, and we’re going to hopefully find a way to win.”
Wednesday night was not a particularly great start for the Lakers, even though Wembanyama had a game far below his standards. The Spurs, who had two days off following their first loss of the season Sunday at the Phoenix Suns, led 20-10 with 4:19 left in the first quarter. Champagnie scored six points on one first quarter possession, converting a 4-point play through a Smart flagrant foul before scoring again after the free throw.
Foul trouble slowed Wembanyama, who had to go to the bench with 8:39 left in the first half with three. The Lakers used an 18-2 advantage in second chance points along with Dončić scoring 22 of his points in the first half to take a 60-59 halftime lead.
Wembanyama avoided picking up his fourth foul until the final seconds of the third quarter, allowing the Spurs to build the lead back up. The Lakers sent Wembanyama to the free throw line for five attempts in the third quarter alone, with the final of those attempts coming after a Smart was whistled for a foul and was then slapped with and technical. But as Smart giveth, Smart taketh away, as he drew Wembanyama’s fifth foul with 10:31 left in the fourth quarter.
“It was crazy, looked like a little kid standing up next to him, man,” said Smart of defending Wembanyama. “7-foot-5 is different. He’s a great player. Still young, learning. You can definitely tell the game has slowed down a little bit for him than it did last year. But once he figures it out, he’s going to be tough. It’s always a pleasure playing against him. It’s a challenge for me. For me, being the person I am, the defender I am, I love tough challenges. So I loved it.”
Wembanyama wound up fouling out with with 1:40 left to play on a charge drawn by Hachimura, who guarded Wembanyama more than any other Laker. It was a struggle for Wembanyama, who had 19 points and made 9-of-11 free throws but had more fouls than field goals (5-of-14, 0-for-2 on 3s) and more turnovers (5) than assists (3). Wembanyama was also soundly outplayed by the first pick of the 2018 NBA draft, Ayton, who had 22 points (9-of-13 field goals), 10 rebounds, no turnovers and two blocked shots while avoiding foul trouble in 33 minutes.
“That’s something I’ve been wanting to show, especially to my coaching staff as well,” Ayton said of his defense. “And they trust me to really go out there and guard one or two dribbles before my help come. And yeah, I’ll be good, comfortable out there. I know my help coming, so I’m straight.”
The Lakers now go on the road for a five-game trip, starting Saturday night against the Atlanta Hawks. Whether Reaves will be ready is “TBD” according to Redick. But with the Lakers having won five straight with five different starting lineups, it’s clear that Redick is feeling good about his team on any given night, especially with Dončić playing.
“I would say for him and for the group, the word of the day is resiliency,” Redick said of Dončić. “I thought he showed that in the second half. Playing through some foul trouble, playing through what, quite honestly, was a frustrating abnormal offensive night for him. He stayed with it. I thought the focus level with both the referees… and just the focus with his teammates and just getting onto the next play. And without Austin, without LeBron, his teammates are looking to him to kind of keep that resolve and keep that positive disposition. And he was able to do that throughout the game. Which look, that’s an area of growth. And I thought he was great with that tonight.”
