SAN FRANCISCO — The Lakers were without one of their best players for all but seven minutes of their Christmas Day game against the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center.
Despite Anthony Davis’ early exit Wednesday because of a left ankle injury, the Lakers pulled out a 115-113 victory over the Warriors after Austin Reaves’ game-winning layup in a matchup that featured two all-time great players adding another chapter to their historic rivalry.
LeBron James (31 points, 10 assists, four rebounds, two steals and one blocked shot) and Warriors star Stephen Curry (38 points on 8-of-15 shooting on 3-pointers and six assists), whose teams had matched up in four previous Christmas Day games (2015-18), showed they’re still among the league’s best players despite being in the latter stages of their careers.
But it was James’ team that made the necessary plays down the stretch to pull out their fifth win in their last seven games, putting the Lakers at 17-13 on the season, and giving the Warriors (15-14) their 11th loss in their last 14.
After the Warriors cut the Lakers’ nine-point lead to 97-94 with just under five minutes left, Reaves scored back-to-back buckets on a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer and a runner on the Lakers’ next two possessions to put the Lakers up by eight.
Max Christie, who finished with 16 points, four rebounds, made a pair of free throws to give the Lakers a 104-94 lead with 3½ minutes left.
But the Warriors, thanks to Curry, didn’t go down without a fight.
Curry scored eight points in the final 26 seconds, including a pull-up corner 3 to tie the game at 113 apiece with eight seconds left.
But Reaves drove past Andrew Wiggins (21 points, 12 rebounds, three assists) for the game-deciding bucket with a second left.
The Warriors didn’t get a shot off before the final buzzer.
Reaves finished with his first triple-double of the season and second of his career with 26 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.
Rui Hachimura scored 18 points on a season-best 5-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc. Dalton Knecht added 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting off the bench for his second double-digit scoring outing of December, and first since the Dec. 6 road loss to the Atlanta Hawks, after scoring in double figures in seven of nine games from Nov. 13-29.
Davis turned his left ankle midway through the first quarter while going for a defensive rebound after Warriors forward Draymond Green missed a corner 3-pointer.
The Lakers’ big man fell to the floor and momentarily held the ankle before getting up but not crossing halfcourt on the Lakers’ following three offensive possessions before the Warriors called timeout.
Davis played another minute before leaving the game and going back to the locker room. The Lakers officially ruled Davis out late in the third, saying he had suffered a sprained ankle.