Clipper Kris Dunn grabs Laker Maxi Kleber ‘s jersey in front of a ref Saturday at the Intuit Dome.
(Ronald Martinez / Getty Images)
The Lakers have been assessed five technical fouls in the last two games because of conduct with officials as frustration over inconsistent calls is starting to boil over. After Doncic, Jaxson Hayes and Marcus Smart were all given technical fouls in the third quarter of Thursday’s win over Utah, Doncic and Smart were T’ed up again Saturday in the first and third quarters, respectively.
“I think if any coach, any player, what we ask for is consistency,” Redick said. “And that’s not to single any official out or any crew out, it’s not about that. We need to know what it is night to night.”
Smart also drew a technical foul against Utah after attempting to talk to an official at halftime. When Smart walked away frustrated, he raised his middle finger toward the official, a gesture that got him fined $35,000 Saturday, the NBA announced.
“Sometimes you got to take the hit to get your point across,” Smart said Saturday.
Redick expressed additional frustration with the lack of transparency in the replay system and murky communication with officials. He said he has not received any feedback when he requests it and the distinction between plays that can and can’t be challenged appears to change every night.
The lack of communication has been frustrating for players as well, Smart said, who met with referees before the Utah game as a team captain, but still had his questions dismissed.
“The captain should be able to come talk to them,” Smart said. “They still don’t want to hear it. So control what you can control. They don’t want to talk, you know, you try and you move on. But it definitely is frustrating when you pour your heart out to this game and the feedback is literally waving you off, telling you to get out your face, and then giving you a tech because you’re asking a simple question.”
Luka Doncic was back at it again, this time surprising the Lakers and staff members with more than 100 e-bikes for Christmas gifts.
Doncic, who took his teammates to a Porsche Driving Experience in October as a way to bond, gave the gifts away Tuesday after practice.
“I just wanted to give everybody something,” he said. “Everybody works hard, even the people you don’t see in the back, so I want to do something for them too.”
Said teammate Jake LaRavia: “Shout-out to Luka, man. What a guy.”
Welcome back to The Times’ Lakers newsletter, where everyone needs to catch up on sleep.
Despite arriving in Boston and Philadelphia at 2:30 a.m. on Friday and Saturday, respectively, and with some players not falling asleep until 4 a.m., the Lakers salvaged a 2-1 record during their difficult three-game, four-day Eastern Conference road trip. With wins over Toronto and the 76ers, the Lakers (17-6) maintained second place in the West entering the knockout stage of NBA Cup action.
When your job requires so much travel, everyone develops their own hacks. Travel-sized skin-care products hate to see me coming. For Jaxson Hayes, it’s a meticulously planned two-and-a-half-hour nap before every game.
Luka Doncic, for one, could have used one of those this week.
All things Lakers, all the time.
He’s a girl(s) dad
Doncic rubbed his weary eyes, ran his hands through his hair and blinked hard as he tried to piece together the details of the last week. New parents know the feeling.
After missing two games while in his native Slovenia for the birth of his second daughter, Doncic rejoined the team Saturday afternoon in Philadelphia. Doncic posted a photo on social media of new baby Olivia wearing a pink sweater with a heart emoji covering her face.
In his typically reserved way, Doncic is private about his family life, but he carries constant reminders with him. He designed a pink colorway of his signature sneaker in honor of his first daughter, Gabriela. When he presented his autobiographical slideshow to the team earlier this year, he named Gabriela, born in 2023, as the person who changed his life. From writing “Gabriela” on his shoes for games, Doncic inscribed a small G and O with a heart on his shoes Sunday.
“Two girls, they’re going to make my life hell for sure, I know that,” Doncic half-joked. “I’m going to be their security after I retire. All jokes aside, it’s the best thing in the world. I’m just blessed.”
Doncic thanked the Lakers for allowing him to spend time with his family during a major life milestone during the season and his manager Lara Beth Seger for helping him set up the travel. He left L.A. on Monday after the Lakers finished back-to-back games against the Phoenix Suns, flying 12 hours to Slovenia, which is nine hours ahead of L.A.
It was a roller coaster, Doncic said. With a relieved smile, he added: “But it was worth it.”
As a father of two boys, coach JJ Redick understands. When his youngest son Kai was born, Redick handled night duty, feeding and changing the baby for almost two months before the season began. He called it “one of the coolest experiences of my life.”
“[I] somehow came to the gym every day with more energy than I thought was possible despite sleeping in two-hour segments for five or six hours,” Redick said before the game. “So hopefully it would be [the same] with Luka.”
Doncic didn’t miss a beat. He recorded his second triple-double of the season with 31 points, 11 assists and 15 rebounds.
Clutch gene
After LeBron James’ fourth-quarter heroics on Sunday, the Lakers are 8-0 in clutch games, which the NBA defines as within five points inside the final five minutes. They’re the only undefeated team in clutch games, besting even the juggernaut Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Lakers have also played the third fewest clutch minutes in the league and are tied for the second fewest clutch games. When they’re good, they’re really good, blowing out the struggling New Orleans Pelicans or the Dallas Mavericks. When they’re bad, they’re also really bad. Don’t forget the losses to Atlanta, Oklahoma City or Phoenix.
The Lakers have just a plus-2.2 point differential per game, the smallest margin of victory of any team in the top six of either conference. It’s a precarious way to live for a team that hopes to win a championship. The luck may run out soon. Or maybe the Lakers will show that it’s truly a sustainable skill they possess as a group.
But the ability to thrive among chaos is still valuable for the second-place team in the West.
“Most of those games, there have been moments where we could break,” Redick said. “We talk about bending but not breaking all the time.”
The Lakers won both of their games during this road trip in clutch fashion. James was at the center of both wins, firing the game-winning assist to Rui Hachimura against Toronto, then scoring 12 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter against Philadelphia. As James racked up 10 consecutive points in the fourth, center Deandre Ayton, sensing the superstar’s powers rising, stopped celebrating the big shots because he wanted to make sure he could enjoy the show.
“Clutch gene,” Ayton said. “Felt like a movie.”
Ayton could earn a nomination for best supporting actor for his work. Not only was he a perfect seven-for-seven from the field for 14 points, but he had 12 rebounds (10 defensive) with a steal and a block. Redick, who cited defense as the team’s biggest concern entering the three-game trip, praised Ayton for being disruptive in drop coverage, his hustle for loose balls and his willingness to switch onto 76ers star guard Tyrese Maxey.
“Whatever we needed him to do on that end of the floor in the second half, he was great,” Redick said.
The Lakers are first in defensive rating in clutch minutes. The team that Redick said was “basically average to slightly below average” on defense has an 85.7 defensive rating in clutch minutes compared with the overall 116.2 rating that ranks 20th in the league.
After giving up 60 points in the first half, the Lakers held Philadelphia to 48 in the second, and Maxey, who entered the game ranked third in the NBA in scoring, had just five points on two-for-six shooting in the fourth quarter.
On tap
Dec. 10 vs. Spurs (16-7), 7 p.m. PDT, NBA Cup quarterfinals
The Spurs won the most competitive Cup group with an impressive 139-136 win over the Denver Nuggets without Victor Wembanyama, who has been out for three weeks with a calf injury. The star Frenchman could return in time for the knockout round game.
If the Lakers win, they will play the winner of the quarterfinal matchup between Oklahoma City and Phoenix in the West semifinals in Las Vegas at 6 p.m. on Dec. 13. The final is at 5:30 p.m. on Dec. 16.
If the Lakers lose, they will play the loser of Oklahoma City-Phoenix in a regular season game on Dec. 11, 12, 14 or 15.
Status report
By popular demand, we’ll start including a brief update on the Lakers’ current injury status.
Marcus Smart: back
The guard’s back issue has lingered for two weeks, but he could return in time for Wednesday’s NBA Cup game, Redick said. The injury progressed from back spasms after the game against the Clippers to “lower back injury management” to “left lumbar muscle strain.”
LeBron James: “old”
James missed the game against Boston because of right sciatica and left foot joint arthritis. The soon-to-be 41-year-old has yet to play in back-to-back games this season, but Redick said the hope is that he will eventually. After missing the first 14 games because of right sciatica, the left foot injury designation cropped up after the Lakers’ NBA Cup win over the Dallas Mavericks. When asked about it, James didn’t seem particularly worried: “It’s called old,” he deadpanned.
Favorite thing I ate this week
The momo platter from Momo Ghar in Toronto. From left to right, the chili momo tossed in a spicy, savory sauce; the tandoori momo; the kurkure (breaded) momo; and the steamed momo.
(Thuc Nhi Nguyen / Los Angeles Times)
I understand the Toronto hype. The city that everyone told me was the best in the NBA delivered despite bitter cold and snow flurries. Walking 25 minutes in below-freezing temperatures to Momo Ghar in Cabbagetown was well worth it for the momo sampler. The platter featured these Tibetan dumplings tossed in a sweet and savory chili sauce, a tandoori sauce, breaded and deep fried and steamed.
And because I love a sweet treat, I ordered mango creme brulee for dessert. The cardamom spiced cream had me wanting to start an alternative life in Toronto.
PHILADELPHIA — LeBron James needed to send this message.
He still sits on his throne.
The Lakers superstar scored 10 consecutive points late in the fourth quarter to seal a 112-108 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday, finishing with 29 points, seven rebounds and six assists to help the Lakers (17-6) nab two wins out of a difficult three-game trip.
Philadelphia (13-10) crawled back from a 10-point deficit in the third quarter and tied the score with 1:28 remaining on a shot by Joel Embiid. James answered with a fadeaway three-pointer over Quentin Grimes with 1:11 left. He all but iced the game with a 20-foot fadeaway over Grimes with 27.3 seconds remaining.
Running back up the court, James held both hands low in a “too small” signal. He placed an invisible crown on his head. He soaked in the roars from the crowd and punctuated it with his signature silencer celebration.
“That was vintage Bron,” said Luka Doncic, who finished with 31 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists after a two-game absence for the birth of his second child. “We’re happy he was there to save us.”
James played in his 1,015th win, passing Robert Parish for the second most in NBA history. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar holds the record with 1,074. The Lakers won for the first time in Philadelphia since Dec. 7, 2017.
Doncic rejoined the team Saturday after he flew from L.A. to his native Slovenia on Dec. 1. Between the 12-hour flight, a nine-hour time difference and being present for the birth of his daughter Olivia, the last week was a blur for Doncic.
Doncic still made his return look effortless, notching his second triple-double of the season.
But the 26-year-old acknowledged he was mentally and physically tired by the fourth quarter. Austin Reaves, who has averaged 40 points in games Doncic missed, misfired on his first eight shots and finished with just 11 points.
Lakers star LeBron James dunks in front of Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid, left, during the first half Sunday.
(Chris Szagola / Associated Press)
Calling on James as their third scoring option showcases the Lakers’ embarrassment of riches.
“His play throughout the game gave us such a lift,” coach JJ Redick said, noting James’ screening and ability to create advantages. “… LeBron was like our connector tonight.”
Trailing by 10 with less than a minute remaining in the second quarter, the Lakers started the third on a 9-3 run to cut the deficit to one before building a 10-point lead with 1:40 left in the quarter. Then James’ heroics helped them hold on.
Deandre Ayton had 14 points on seven-for-seven shooting with 12 rebounds. Rui Hachimura scored 17 points as all five starters finished in double figures to hold off a fourth-quarter charge from the 76ers, who were led by 28 points, nine assists and seven rebounds from star guard Tyrese Maxey.
“That’s the beautiful thing about our team,” Reaves said, “is it’s not even just us three.”
With Doncic and Reaves off to career-best starts, the Lakers are 11-5 without James, who missed the first 14 games because of sciatica. The NBA’s all-time leading scorer had never missed the beginning of a season — in his life, James stressed. Missing training camp, preseason games and practices affected James not only physically but also mentally. James had to remind himself to fall “in love with the process” to rediscover his rhythm.
His trust paid off Sunday as he scored 12 of the Lakers’ 25 fourth-quarter points.
“It’s important to be reminded every now and then of what you’re capable of,” Redick said. “For him to have the injuries, and then to sort of start the season playing catch-up in a way, and start the season playing catch-up with a team that is also in a really good rhythm, and that’s, as a player, I don’t care how good you are, that’s tough to figure out.”
Three weeks shy of his 41st birthday, James missed the previous game in Boston because of sciatica and joint arthritis in his left foot. While he made the winning assist in the Lakers’ thrilling victory in Toronto, he also lost his 1,297-game streak of scoring 10 or more points. It felt like he finally was starting to show signs of his age.
Then he unleashed a signature one-handed tomahawk dunk in transition during the first quarter against the 76ers. It was a not-so-gentle reminder that James won’t ride into the twilight of his career quietly.
“Just at 40 years old, I mean, it just takes awhile for my body to kind of get back into a rhythm,” James said. “And so it felt good tonight to kind of feel like myself a little bit, being able to run and jump and cut and catch my second wind a lot faster tonight. Hopefully that stays.”
Every made basket from James made the Philadelphia fans clamor for more. Even the road fans hope James stays longer too.
