The Los Angeles Lakers secured a 125-122 win over the LA Clippers on Friday, and head coach JJ Redick made it clear what moment defined the night.
“I thought that the charge was the play of the game and frankly the second charge would have been the play of the game had they made the right call,” Redick said. “Which they didn’t and you know they make a three but you know that was a huge play given the circumstances.”
Redick was referring to Austin Reaves, who finished with 29 points on 9-of-15 shooting and 4-of-5 from deep.
“He was fantastic tonight you know other than the two turnovers there and the third in traffic,” Redick said. “He just he played super efficient night.”
The Lakers shot 44-for-85 overall and 17-for-31 from 3-point range, including a stretch where they made 16 of 17 shots in the first half.
“The offense in that first half was good,” Redick said. “We made some shots, but I thought the extra passes and the execution and the way we got to spacing and early offense and just sharing the basketball and it was clutter-free, ego-free. We just played.”
He added, “You’re not going to shoot 67% but I thought the process was really good.”
Luka Doncic led all scorers with 38 points and 11 assists in his return from a four-game absence.
“Luka’s going to have the ball a lot,” Redick said about late-game execution. “When plays break down, you got to go get it sometimes and he’s able to get it.”
Redick emphasized that isolation was not always the call.
“It wasn’t we didn’t like call ISO for him,” he said. “There was a couple plays we ran with just him as the decision maker, him as the ball handler. It’s not necessarily ISO.”
The coach also noted the trust within the roster.
“We’ve played through LeBron, the Philly game is a great example of that,” Redick said. “We obviously have played through AR at the end of the game. Just reading the situation and we obviously everybody including his teammates feel really comfortable with Luka having the ball.”
Marcus Smart’s fourth-quarter surge also drew praise after he hit two late jumpers and an and-one sequence.
“Smart was fantastic on defense all night,” Redick said. “Seven minutes left in the fourth or whatever it was and he hasn’t taken a shot and we come out of a timeout, he makes a three and then he makes another one and then he gets the and one. Just huge from him, leadership in the huddles, all that.”
Redick also highlighted Deandre Ayton’s impact.
“DA was great and very engaged and just was able to execute our defensive game plan at a really high level,” he said.
LeBron James added 13 points and 11 assists despite battling physical issues.
“He fought through a lot today,” Redick said. “The knee soreness he probably doesn’t want me to share, but he was dealing with a migraine as well pregame. Just again, he just he rings the bell over and over. It’s what he does.”
The victory moved the Lakers to 34-21, keeping them fifth in the Western Conference standings.
