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For just the 11th time in 55 games this season, the Lakers had Luka Doncic, LeBron James and Austin Reaves sharing the court together.

They are the core of the Lakers, the engines that make this team go, but health issues have prevented them from playing together for far too much of the 2025-26 campaign.

During their first game since the NBA All-Star break, Doncic, Reaves and James carried the the Lakers to a 125-122 win over the Clippers Friday night at Crypto.com Arena.

Doncic had 38 points, 11 assists and six rebounds.

Lakers guard Austin Reaves celebrates after Clippers guard Bennedict Mathurin (9) was called for an offensive foul Friday at Crypto.com Arena.

(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

Reaves had 29 points, six assists and made a big defensive play late in the game.

And James had 13 points and 11 assists, his fifth straight game with 10 or more assists.

Up 118-115 with 1:49 left, Reaves took drew a charge on Bennedict Mathurin, the Clipper’s sixth foul that sent him to the bench with 26 points.

Still, the Lakers didn’t escape until Doncic made two free throws with 21.2 seconds left to give the Lakers a five-point lead that barely stood.

With a 125-122 lead and the ball, James threw a dangerous cross-court pass intended for Doncic that Nicolas Batum instead stole.

But Batum missed a potential game-tying three-pointer and James got the rebound to secure the win.

The Lakers put two defenders on Kawhi Leonard, double teaming the Clippers’ best offensive weapon, keeping a crowd of defenders around him, especially when they employed their zone defense.

Leonard was giving it to the Lakers, but he left late in the fourth quarter with left ankle soreness, departing with 31 points on 11-for-19 shooting.

Lakers coach JJ Redick said pre-game that Leonard is back to being a force on both sides of the basketball.

That’s why so much of the Lakers’ gameplan centered around trying to slow down Leonard, who is eighth in the NBA in scoring (27.8) and tied for first in steals (2.0).

“He’s more consistently taking the tougher assignments right now, and he’s back to being just an elite two-way player on both ends of the floor,” Redick said. “And you know, he’s playing as well as anybody in the NBA right now for the last two months, whatever the starting point would be, but it really is on both sides of the ball.”

Leonard is a primary reason why the Clippers are still rolling despite having traded away two key pieces in guard James Harden and center Ivicia Zubac.

The Clippers started the season 6-21, looking nothing like a playoff team.

But then they beat the Lakers on Dec. 20 and that got the Clippers rolling to a 21-7 stretch entering Friday night’s game, a two-month period that saw them get to one game under .500.

Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said none of the Clippers ever gave up on the season, adding they were always “playing to win” no matter whether they had “young, old, toddlers” on the court.

“I just feel confident,” Lue said. “I just feel confident in our players, confident in our coaching staff and I just feel confident in the environment and the culture that we’ve set. Why wouldn’t we want to play to win? That’s our mindset. That’s my mindset every single night. As tough as it may be or you start 6-21 whatever it may be, you’re playing to win. So, we make it to the playoffs and anything can happen. So our goal is to make it to the playoffs. I don’t know why somebody would scoff at that.”

GB started with the hammer, took two in accomplished first end, and looked like they might enjoy a comfortable start to the day in Italy.

Estonia responded by doing the same, though, after a slight Dodds error with her last stone. “Sorry, Bruce,” said the 34-year-old, who was slightly errant again with her opening rock of the third end.

But Dodds, peerless against Norway, righted herself to deliver a magnificent final store and restore GB’s two-point advantage.

The Estonians should have pulled level again, but a Marie Kaldvee mistake ensured they still trailed at the break. “It’s been a bit of back and forth,” was how 2022 Olympic gold medallist Vicky Wright described it.

Kaldvee was slack again upon the resumption and Mouat – fuelled by an interval munch of mango – delivered with GB’s final stone to extend the advantage to 6-3 with three ends remaining.

Estonia – who overcame a four-point deficit in the final end against Switzerland in their opener – employed their powerplay in the sixth and moved back within one after capitalising on a rare Mouat error.

GB played their own powerplay in response and made full use of it, a furious double sweep by both Mouat and Dodds earning a decisive four points after some deliberation with the measuring stick.

That opened up a five-point chasm, which persuaded the Estonians to shake hands and concede defeat with an end to spare.

“That was better from me today. I had a few that slipped up, but I called myself a bad word, and moved on,” Mouat told BBC Sport.

“We’re very happy with how we’re performing and excited to get GB off on the right foot.”