The Los Angeles Lakers extended their winning streak to five on Luka Dončić‘s 26th birthday, outlasting their crosstown rivals Los Angeles Clippers 106-102 on Friday, Feb. 28. But another key injury served as the party pooper.
Austin Reaves left in the first quarter with right calf soreness, joining Rui Hachimura (left knee strain) at the sidelines.
Lakers coach JJ Redick said Reaves exited in the first quarter as a precautionary measure.
“He was experiencing some tightness in the calf, some soreness,” Redick told reporters after the game. “Was held out as a precaution.”
Reaves, the Lakers’ third-leading scorer, was ruled out after only playing nine minutes. He left the game with six points on 2-of-4 shooting and one block.
ESPN’s Dave McMenamin reported that Reaves will undergo MRI Saturday, March 1, to have more clarity on the severity of his injury. This marks the first time in Reaves’ NBA career that he is dealing with a calf injury.
Meanwhile, Hachimura has been diagnosed with patella tendonopathy on his left knee, Redick told reporters after the win. But Redick sounded optimistic before the game.
“We’re optimistic this is not a serious injury,” Redick said of Hachimua’s injury. “It’s still not quite clear on when he will be available to play. But we’re optimistic.”
Hachimura sustained the injury during their 111-102 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday, Feb. 27.
Without their two key starters on the second night of a back-to-back schedule, the Lakers banked on their stellar defense and the star duo of LeBron James and birthday boy Luka Dončić for firepower.
Luka’s 26th Birthday
Dončić celebrated his birthday with 31 points, 10 in the fourth quarter that sealed the Lakers’ 15th win over their last 18 games, and five assists. They are 10-2 this February and 6-2 since Dončić joined them after the most shocking trade in NBA history.
Reflecting on the whirlwind year that brought him from Dallas to Los Angeles, Dončić could not ask for more for his birthday.
“It’s all good,” Dončić told reporters. “I’m happy. That’s all that matters. I have a little daughter. My family’s good, the people around me are good so that’s everything I want.”
With Dončić leading the Lakers in scoring, James focused on rebounding as he grabbed a team-high 13 rebounds to go with 28 points and three assists.
It was a gritty win for the Lakers, who got a massive lift from their bench.
“I think it showed especially today, coming to back to back [games] without two of our starters. It’s a tough game to play and to win, I think we showed our character today,” Dončić said. “I would just say that the second group with Bron, they gave us life and they like inspired us to play faster, to play harder so thanks to them, we won the game.”
Lakers Have Depth
Their bench outscored their Clippers counterpart 29-14, which cushioned the impact of Reaves’ loss and Hachimura’s absence.
Dalton Knecht had eight points while Gabe Vincent added seven to lead the Lakers’ second unit. Reserve center Trey Jemison III, who is on a two-way contract, contributed five points, six rebounds and a block in 22 minutes. Their other two-way player, Jordan Goodwin stuffed the stats sheet with six points, five rebounds, three steals and two assists.
Jarred Vanderbilt only had three points but he grabbed five rebounds and a steal and led the Lakers in plus-minus category with plus-20, meaning they outscored the Clippers by 20 during his 15-minute stint.
Dorian Finney-Smith, who started in Hachimura’s place, also had a solid game. Finney-Smith finished with seven points on 3-of-6 shooting with five rebounds and three assists.
“They competed. They found a way. It was a rock fight out there,” Redick told reporters. “We didn’t start well defensively and then our bench came in and just gave us a massive lift on the second night of a back to back with their energy and activity.”
The Lakers improved to 37-21, trailing the third seed Memphis Grizzlies (38-21) by only half-game and the second seed Denver Nuggets (39-21) by one game.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Lakers Win on Luka’s 26th Birthday But Injury Concerns Mounting appeared first on Heavy Sports.