MILWAUKEE — Down 19 to the Milwaukee Bucks with 8:25 remaining in regulation on Tuesday night time, the Los Angeles Lakers had each proper to throw within the towel, particularly on the primary night time of a six-game highway journey. As a substitute, they selected to maintain preventing and wound up pulling off a dramatic comeback to win 128-124 in double extra time.
“Hell yeah, hell yeah, positively top-five [win of the season], could be top-three,” Lakers head coach Darvin Ham mentioned. “We handled plenty of adversity all through the whole lot of the sport, had been in a position to pull ourselves collectively, stayed centered, by no means gave up … that was a hell of a workforce win proper there.”
Regardless of nonetheless trailing by double digits with 3:26 left, the Lakers practically received the sport in regulation. Austin Reaves had a large open look from 30 ft with 0.8 seconds left, however noticed his heave hit the backboard and spin off the rim. Two extra time intervals later, Reaves would redeem himself by draining a go-ahead 3 with 37.8 seconds to play.
“That is the stuff you dream about as a child,” Reaves mentioned. “Being on the highway together with your guys, battling out a tremendous workforce and having alternatives to make massive photographs. That is what I’ve grown up residing to do. Counting down within the yard to win a recreation, if I by some means miss, time kinda slows down a bit and I get to rely down once more … in these moments I am out of breath, however adrenaline is operating so quick you kinda do not feel it.”
With the Lakers’ massive win within the books, here is a take a look at all of the numbers it’s essential to know from a wild night time in Milwaukee:
19
The Lakers didn’t have a lead in regulation and had been down by as a lot as 19 early within the fourth quarter. This was tied for the second-biggest comeback of the season for the Lakers, falling in need of solely their 21-point comeback in opposition to the Los Angeles Clippers late final month.
52
Anthony Davis has been stricken by accidents all through his profession, however that has not been the case this season. He is already performed 68 video games and is on tempo to hit the 70-game mark for the primary time since 2018. His effort on Tuesday was an ideal instance of his sturdiness this marketing campaign, as he performed 52 of a potential 58 minutes.
Davis’ 52 minutes aren’t solely a career-high, however essentially the most performed by any participant this season. They’re additionally essentially the most performed by any Lakers participant since Kobe Bryant performed 52 minutes within the Lakers’ double-overtime win over the Memphis Grizzlies in 2012.
Making Davis’ accomplishment much more spectacular is the truth that he was battling a sore knee from a collision with Khris Middleton. “He assured me he was gonna push by means of,” Ham mentioned. “Kudos to him, man. He performed his ass off.”
34, 23
Davis didn’t have his finest capturing recreation on Tuesday, however he made photographs once they mattered, together with a pair of 3-pointers late within the fourth quarter and one other within the first extra time. All instructed, he completed with 34 factors, 23 rebounds and 4 blocks to file his fourth 30-point, 20-rebound recreation as a Laker.
That moved him previous George Mikan for the fifth-most such video games in Lakers historical past, trailing Shaquille O’Neal, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain and Elgin Baylor.
4, 40-32, 9, 2, 2.5
With their unbelievable victory, the Lakers’ profitable streak reached 4 video games and so they improved to 40-32 on the season. Nonetheless on their lonesome in ninth place within the Western Convention, they’re now simply two video games again of the Phoenix Suns for eighth, with the tiebreaker in hand, and a pair of.5 video games up on the Golden State Warriors.
At this level the Lakers have practically locked in a spot within the Play-In Event, however their seed remains to be to be decided. If they will rise up to eighth, they will be within the 7-8 recreation, which provides them two probabilities to make the playoffs. Even when they don’t seem to be in a position to catch the Suns, the No. 9 seed remains to be vital to have homecourt within the 9-10 recreation.
29, 14, 10
Coming into Tuesday, Reaves had one triple-double in his profession, however it got here throughout the meaningless closing recreation of the 2021-22 season. Practically two years later, he lastly received again into the triple-double motion. This time, it was actually a recreation to recollect, as he completed with 29 factors, 14 rebounds and 10 assists, and hit the game-winner in double extra time.
For the reason that begin of the flip of the millennium, the one different gamers to have a minimum of 29 factors, 14 rebounds and 10 assists in a recreation for the Lakers are Bryant and LeBron James.
“Austin does all of it. I simply love teaching the child, man,” Ham mentioned. “If there’s any illustration of the Darvin Ham period, Austin Reaves can be proper on the prime of that checklist. Simply along with his competitiveness, the best way he cares about his teammates, how coachable he’s, and simply desires to win. He is a child who’s only a flat-out winner.”