Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick reflected on Thursday night’s 123-120 road victory over the Toronto Raptors, highlighting LeBron James’ unselfish play and Rui Hachimura’s development.
Redick explained the final play, where LeBron found Hachimura for a corner three at the buzzer: “Just felt like in that situation for us tonight, we had the group on the floor that we wanted. Shot clock was off. I didn’t feel the need to call a timeout. Trust AR with the ball, trust LeBron as a decision maker… they went to fire.”
The assist gave James his 11th assist of the game and ended his NBA-record streak of 1,297 consecutive games with at least 10 points. Redick noted, “LeBron is acutely aware of how many points he has. And like he’s done so many times in his career… he makes the right play and his teammate hits the game-winner.”
On James’ decision to pass rather than extend his streak, Redick said it reflected trust in his teammates: “I think it shows a level of trust in his teammates. One of the big parts of that play once they fired on AR was him stampeding that pass, which scrambled the defense and allowed Rui all the time in the world to take that shot.”
Redick also discussed Hachimura’s growth, praising his shooting and confidence: “He was coming off a 23-24 career-high and three-point percentage… and we found out very quickly he’s a laser. I have so much belief when he gets his feet set and gets his legs underneath him that the shots go in.”
He credited the team’s overall resilience in a short-handed matchup: “I thought our guys did a really good job of managing the game, managing their runs, momentum swings on the road, some tough breaks… just kept the resolve and resilience to win on the road.”
Austin Reaves led the Lakers with 44 points, including 22 in the third quarter, while Deandre Ayton added 17 and Jake LaRavia scored 14 off the bench. Los Angeles shot 50% from the field and 42% from three.
For Toronto, Scottie Barnes had 23 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists, and Brandon Ingram added 20 points, but the Raptors fell short despite strong third-quarter scoring.
The Lakers improve to 16-5 and travel to Boston on Friday, while the Raptors host Charlotte.
