The Los Angeles Lakers won an absolute thriller at Crypto.com Arena on Saturday, taking down the Denver Nuggets 127-125 in overtime. The Lakers seemed headed to defeat in regulation, but Austin Reaves miraculously sent the contest to overtime, and Luka Doncic then drilled the game-winner in it.
Reaves had headed to the line for two free throws with the Lakers down 118-115 with 5.2 seconds remaining and needed to miss the second and get the ball back. The odds were very much against him, but he somehow executed to perfection.
Reaves missed to the left, then grabbed the offensive rebound and sank the game-tying floater. It was one of the plays of the season, and the 27-year-old spoke about it in his courtside interview with ESPN’s Lisa Salters postgame.
“I made a bad play,” Reaves said. “They doubled Luka, and [Nikola] Jokic got a good strip on me when we were down two to put us in that position. But you gotta move on to the next play, and [I] seen they had one guy on that side, so tried to miss that side. Tried to go make a play.”
Nikola Jokic had put the Nuggets in position to win this one with two terrific plays. Jokic first found Tim Hardaway Jr. for a three with a ridiculous cross-court pass out of a double-team, and then swiped the ball as Reaves drove to the basket on the next play.
That meant the Nuggets had the ball with a 115-113 lead with about 10 seconds remaining. They win the game 99 times out of 100 from there, but Reaves ensured they didn’t. Salters wondered if that was a play he had actually practiced.
“I’ve done it before, yeah,” Reaves stated. “Long time ago in the AAU, I tried it, and it worked. I hit a corner three, but not to this magnitude.”
You can check out the play below, and it still boggles the mind that Reaves pulled this off.
AUSTIN REAVES PERFECT MISS TO SEND NUGGETS-LAKERS TO OT!!
Get to ABC now! 🍿 pic.twitter.com/J9EH1MngY6
— ESPN (@espn) March 15, 2026
Reaves finished with 32 points (12-21 FG), seven rebounds, six assists, one steal, and one block against the Nuggets. This is his third straight 30-point game, and he is well and truly back in form after struggling a little bit after the All-Star break.
While Reaves’ play was the biggest highlight of the night, Doncic’s was a close second. The Slovenian got away from the double team and then drilled a stepback mid-ranger over Spencer Jones to give the Lakers a two-point lead with 0.5 seconds remaining. It was just yet another outstanding clutch play from Doncic, and he shared his thoughts as that clock was winding down with Salters.
“I mean, I just wanted to get my shot up,” Doncic said. “Obviously, we want to have the last shot. I saw they were doubling, so I went to the other side. Rejig, get to my left step-back, and I work on this so I trust my shot.”
Here is a look at Doncic’s incredible play.
LUKA. BALLGAME.
LUKA DONCIC WINS IT IN THE CLUTCH FOR THE LAKERS 🔥 pic.twitter.com/yIXlJGvbnN
— ESPN (@espn) March 15, 2026
That shot gave Doncic his 36th 30-point game of the season. The six-time All-Star ended the night with 30 points (10-26 FG), 11 rebounds, 13 assists, one steal, and three blocks.
Reaves and Doncic’s heroics helped the Lakers extend their win streak to five games. They are now third in the Western Conference with a 42-25 record.
The Lakers are proving their doubters wrong by taking down some of the best teams in the NBA and will take on the Houston Rockets next at Toyota Center on Monday at 9:30 p.m. ET.
