The Los Angeles Lakers registered one of their most impressive wins of the season on Monday night by beating the Houston Rockets 104-98 at Crypto.com Arena. Luka Doncic was in particularly high spirits after this win as he spoke about the Lakers’ chemistry, the standings, and Dorian Finney-Smith postgame.
Reporter: “Hey Luka, we see you cracking jokes and the chemistry is definitely there on the court over the last couple of weeks/month and a half. How has your guys’ chemistry grown off the court, especially over these last couple of road trips?”
Luka Doncic: “Well, we didn’t do even dinner yet. We had so many games, so we didn’t have time for that. But, off the court, it’s great. Everybody joking in the locker room. Then when we need to lock in, we lock in. So the chemistry is at great point right now.”
Reporter: “At this point in the season, how much do you pay attention to the standings and push for specific seeding as you guys close the regular season?”
Doncic: “A little bit. We talk as a group mostly. But we just got to go game by game, and that’s what I always say. You can’t look forward. We got to go game by game. Every game is a different challenge, so we just got to go game by game.”
Reporter: “You like giving Dorian a hard time, you guys go back a ways as teammates. But what’s it like trying to get him to shoot as many times as he did tonight? Do you have to encourage him some? And JJ [Redick] was telling us that the looks he’s getting are probably as good as the looks you’re going to get on the team. Do you have to kind of keep reminding him that please keep shooting?”
Doncic: “No, I just told him today, ‘If you don’t want to shoot it, I’ll shoot it.’ Honestly, you can ask him. I think he could have shot more even. Three or four times he was open, he didn’t want to shoot it. That’s the only thing I told him, and he knows how I tell him.”
Reporter: “Do you recognize, though, his maybe reluctance to do that, considering there is you and LeBron [James] and Austin [Reaves], really talented offensive players, and he plays a team brand of basketball? You understand why maybe he is not just looking to gun?”
Doncic: “Yeah, but he talks s*** in practice when he shoots with me. So, I don’t see why he wouldn’t do it in the game. But no, I mean he’s a great player. Those players you need on a team. Never complain. Play 48 minutes, play zero, he’s never going to say a thing. And he’s a fighter, man. Always love him, always love how he plays, and just happy to be reunited with him.”
Finney-Smith ended up being one of the Lakers’ leading scorers against the Rockets, with 20 points (6-13 FG), six rebounds, three assists, two steals, and three blocks. He and Gabe Vincent, who also had 20 points, stepped up on a night where Doncic, LeBron James, and Austin Reaves combined for just 48 points.
Doncic played the best of the three, finishing with 20 points (6-16 FG), six rebounds, nine assists, and two steals against the Rockets. It was a good sign for the Lakers that the role players picked up the slack and showed they can be relied upon when the stars have a rare off night.
With this win, the Lakers improved to 46-29 and will take on the Golden State Warriors next at Crypto.com Arena on Thursday at 10 PM ET.
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