Dončić, Reaves combine for 67 in Lakers' win over Clippers

LOS ANGELES -- The All-Star break did nothing to cool off Luka Dončić. If anything, it gave him a runway.

In their first game back, the Lakers rode Dončić’s 38-point eruption to a 125-122 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night, a shot-making showcase that felt personal, precise and perfectly timed. Dončić logged 38 minutes and poured in 38 points, drilling eight 3-pointers and controlling the game’s rhythm whenever it threatened to tilt the other way.

With 5:10 left and the score tight, Dončić buried a step-back three in front of the Lakers’ bench to give them a 112-109 lead. He didn’t celebrate much — just a quick glance and a jog back — but the message was clear. This was his floor.

He added 11 assists and seven rebounds, dissecting coverages and punishing switches. It was the kind of performance the Lakers envisioned when they handed him the keys to the offense: scoring gravity paired with playmaking poise.

And he wasn’t alone.

Austin Reaves, playing his first game without minute restrictions since returning from injury, delivered 29 points on 4-of-5 shooting from deep. Together, Dončić and Reaves combined for 67 points, stretching the Clippers’ defense to its breaking point.

But Reaves’ biggest play came without the ball.

With under two minutes remaining and the Lakers clinging to a narrow lead, Reaves slid over and drew a charge that ultimately sealed the game. It was the kind of winning play that doesn’t show up in a scoring column but swings outcomes.

“I thought the charge was the play of the game,” head coach JJ Redick said afterward.

Dončić agreed.

“It was amazing,” he said. “His first game without minute restrictions since his injury. He did some amazing things out there.”

The Lakers’ offense hummed early, particularly in a first quarter that set the tone. They spaced the floor, pushed the pace and shared the ball with a purpose that Redick described as “clutter free, ego free.”

“Yeah, the offense in that first half was good,” Redick said. “You’re not gonna shoot 67%, but I thought the process was really good.”

Dončić pointed to the defense as the spark.

“In the first quarter, we were playing good defense, and we were playing with a lot of pace,” he said. “We were able to create some different looks, and I think that is how we should play.”

The Lakers shot 55% from three and built a lead as large as 15, but the Clippers — coming off a statement win over the Denver Nuggets at Intuit Dome — didn’t fold. They trimmed the margin repeatedly, fueled in part by 26 points from Bennedict Mathurin before he fouled out late.

Still, every time the game tightened, the Lakers had an answer.

LeBron James scored just 13 points, but his fingerprints were everywhere. He finished with 11 assists in 33 minutes, recording his fifth straight game with double-digit assists — his first such streak since January 2020. With his 10th assist, he joined Magic Johnson as the only players in franchise history with four or more such streaks. And he did it while less than 100 percent.

Redick revealed postgame that James was playing through left knee soreness — and even dealt with a migraine pregame.

“He probably doesn't want me to share,” Redick said, “but he was dealing with a migraine as well pregame and just again, he just rings the bell over and over.”

James said the knee issue stemmed from a hard landing during Thursday’s scrimmage.

“If I'm gonna play, I gotta make something happen,” James said. “[I] gotta be productive for the team and do what I can do.”

That productivity extended beyond the box score. The Lakers forced 16 turnovers, with Marcus Smart hounding ball handlers and generating deflections that fueled transition opportunities. Defensively connected. Offensively liberated.

At 34-21, the Lakers head into Sunday’s showdown against the Boston Celtics with momentum — and emotion.

The franchise will unveil a statue honoring Pat Riley before tipoff, a nod to the architect of Showtime. And there may be no better backdrop than a visit from Boston.

But first, there was Friday — a reminder that when Dončić is orchestrating and the Lakers are sharing, spacing and defending, they can look every bit like a team built to compete for a championship.