laker

There was a moment when the Lakers were humming along near the end of the NBA’s regular season, when they went 16-2 in the month of March as Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves and LeBron James found their groove together as a dynamic threesome.

But on April 2 at Oklahoma City, Doncic (Grade 2 left hamstring strain) and Reaves (Grade 2 left oblique muscle strain) went down with injuries and it was left to James to lead the group.

James did, leading the Lakers past the Houston Rockets in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs. Reaves joined James in Game 5 of that series and the two of them led the charge into the Western Conference semifinals against the Thunder, a series in which Los Angeles got swept, 4-0.

Through it all, Doncic was and still is the center of the Lakers’ universe.

So with James and Reaves looking at free agency, Lakers president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka said Tuesday at the team’s exit interviews that the organization wants both players back to team up with Doncic.

James, 41 and in his 23rd season, made $52.6 million last season but will be a free agent this offseason, when he can retire, return to the Lakers or play for another team.

“I think in terms of LeBron, we probably haven’t seen a player that has honored the game to the extent that he’s honored the game. He’s given so much to his teammates, to this organization,” Pelinka said. “And the thing we want to do more than anything else is honor him back. And I think the first order of business there is allowing him to spend the time he needs to decide what his next steps are.

“Does he want to play another year in the NBA? And that’ll be, as he said to you guys last night, family time [and] I think time with his inner circle. And we just want to honor that for him. Of course, any team, including ours, would love to have LeBron James on their roster. That’s a blessing in itself just with what he does.”

Reaves is expected to opt out of his contract that will pay him $14.8 million next season and become a free agent. The Lakers can pay Reaves the most, a maximum deal of $241 million over five years, with a starting salary of about $41.5 million next season. Reaves could sign with another team that has cap space, but that deal would be for four years and about $178 million.

“He started his journey here as a Laker and has made it very clear to us that he wants his journey to continue as a Laker,” Pelinka said. “And we feel the same way. We want his odyssey to continue to unfold in the purple and gold. As you know, there’s rules and timing to all of that, but I think both sides have made it abundantly clear that we want to work something out where he continues his prolific career here.”

The Lakers have their star in Doncic and will collaborate with him going forward.

He led the NBA in scoring (33.5 points per game), was third in assists (8.3) and was a most valuable player candidate.

Doncic, who missed the last five regular-season games and all of the playoffs, signed a three-year extension last summer for $165 million.

The Lakers want to build on that.

“He’s an incredible partner,” Pelinka said of Doncic. “His basketball IQ on the court is something we get to see as fans. [Lakers coach] JJ [Redick]) and I get to see his basketball knowledge in terms of other players in the league and the way he wants to play and who he wants to play with.

“His knowledge-base is vast and so those collaborations with him are really inspirational. He also does it in a way that he wants to do his job great, and he wants to let JJ do his job great and let me do my job great. So, they really are productive conversations through that lens.”

With the Lakers down 1-0 in the Western Conference semifinals, Luka Doncic has not yet ramped up to on-court contact drills while recovering from an injured left hamstring that had an inital eight-week timeline for his return.

Doncic, speaking to reporters for the first time since he hobbled off the court at Oklahoma City’s Paycom Center on April 2, said Wednesday he has improved enough to begin running but he has not progressed to on-court contact drills. After suffering a left hamstring injury earlier this season, Doncic said the latest Grade 2 strain to the same area is unlike any he’s experienced because of its severity.

But it has not stopped him from trying to come back as soon as possible.

“I’m just doing everything I can,” Doncic said. “Every day I’m doing stuff I’m supposed to do. Obviously recovery, now I’m working … just going day by day, and I feel better every day.”

Soon after his injury, Doncic went to Spain and received platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections with hopes to help his recovery. He stayed for roughly two weeks because he needed to wait four days between each injection. He received four in total.

Without their leading scorer, the Lakers fought through a six-game, first-round series against the Houston Rockets, playing four of those games without Austin Reaves, who was also injured in the same game as Doncic. The fourth-seeded Lakers lost 108-90 to the defending champion Thunder in Game 1 of the conference semifinals on Tuesday.

Doncic had dutifully cheered from the bench during the playoff games, offering as much advice to his teammates as he can.

“It’s very frustrating,” Doncic said of the injury. “I don’t think people understand how frustrating it is. All I want to do is play basketball, especially at this time. It’s the best time to play basketball. It’s very frustrating seeing what my team is doing, I’m very proud of them. It’s been very tough just to see and watch them play.”

LeBron James was exhausted. Marcus Smart was drained. Luke Kennard was invisible.

The Lakers were cooked, the playoff magic finally drained from a team without its two leading scorers, a team in the process of making every conceivable mistake, reality bouncing off their feet and ricocheting off their hips and falling out of their hands.

On a jarring Friday night at Houston’s Toyota Center, the Rockets led by six with 30 seconds remaining and had possession of the ball. They just needed to get it upcourt. They just needed to play catch.

The Lakers were done.

And if you believe that, then you don’t believe what they believe.

They believed Smart would steal a terrible backcourt pass, absorb a terrible shooting foul and make three free throws.

They believed James would knock away a dribble on the next possession, run to beyond the three-point line, take a pass from Kennard and sink a game-tying trey.

They believed in the miracle of forcing this game into overtime, then believed in the destiny of a 112-108 victory to take an historically insurmountable three-games-to-none lead in a first-round playoff series they should have lost.

How frantic was that finish? In the postseason over the last 29 years, NBA teams that led by six or more points in the last 30 seconds are now 1,713-2.

“It was just a gutty win for us,” James said.

Gutty, gritty, growling, great, great win.

“Everything that we needed to do, even when it wasn’t pretty, we just kind of found a way to do it,” said coach JJ Redick. “And … we’re playing hard. I mean, that’s what you have to do to put yourself in a position to win.”

Lakers center Deandre Ayton, right, and guard Marcus Smart slap hands as they celebrate in overtime during their win Friday.

(Kenneth Richmond / Getty Images)

They are true believers, this bunch, as much as any Laker team has believed since the 2020 championship run, perhaps more than any other Lakers team in history.

They believe in their legendary leader, LeBron. They believe in the playoff-tough Smart. They believe in their connectivity, in their desperation, in their destiny.

They believe this is a special team. Once they get their two injured scorers back — and Austin Reaves and Luka Doncic are apparently returning faster than anyone imagined — they believe this could be a championship-contending team.

They will find out in the next round, when their opponent will be either the defending champions from Oklahoma City or the the Phoenix Suns.

Even if they finish off the Rockets in a sweep — and this series is already over considering NBA teams are 159-0 with a 3-0 lead — they will be considerable underdogs moving forward.

Surely they were lucky that star Kevin Durant didn’t play in two of these three games, including missing Friday’s Game 3 with a sprained ankle.

Surely they can’t keep winning games with 21 turnovers and half as many offensive rebounds and blown 15-point leads.

Surely that even if Reaves and Doncic return, they will revert to being the same team that lost to Oklahoma City by 43 points and lost to San Antonio by 16 in their most recent meetings while at full strength.

Surely they’re not this deep and committed and inspired as they’ve shown in these first three games.

Right? Wrong. Were you watching?

The Rockets used numerous Lakers mistakes and defensive mistakes to take the lead in the final five minutes and seemingly hold it for a series-changing victory. The dagger appeared to be a fastbreak dunk by Alperen Sengun to give the Rockets a 101-95 lead and eventually the ball with the crowd roaring and barely 30 seconds left.

Little did they know the Lakers had them right where they wanted them.

“We’ve talked … about elevating everything,” said Redick, later adding, “You have to elevate your poise, you have to elevate your composure, recognizing that there’s going to be moments where the crowd’s going crazy or you get down, they make a run, whatever it may be. We weathered a lot tonight. … And then, in that moment, just to have the poise to just keep playing.”

The Lakers had that poise. The Rockets lost their cool.

In that moment… what was Jabari Smith Jr. doing throwing a looping backcourt pass to apparently nobody? And after Smart grabbed it and threw up a desperate three… what was Jae’Sean Tate doing fouling him?

“I see Tate running really fast and I’m like, ‘OK, he probably not going to be able to stop in time,’” explained Smart. “So, I just pulled up right away and he ran right under me, exactly what happened. So, it was a smart play. That’s part of my vet, being a vet and my vet savvy. Been in the league for 12 years. I picked up some tricks from some guys.”

Even after the vet’s three free throws, the Rockets still could have easily won this, but… what was Reed Sheppard doing casually dribbling the ball upcourt without noticing James behind him? James knocked the ball away for the steal, eventually got it back, and drained a trey with 13 seconds remaining for the eventual overtime-sending gut punch.

“We don’t have the luxury of being passive or being complacent,” James said. “Our whole mindset is we have to do everything it takes in that particular game and that particular moment in that particular possession in order for us to win basketball games, because we don’t have a long leash of error. We don’t have a lot [of room] for error.”

Once they reached the extra period, well, it was over the moment an angrily stunned Sengun threw a towel to the floor in front of the Rockets’ bench moments after the end of regulation.

The Rockets were unnerved and eventually undone.

Smart started the extra period by hitting a three, then kept the Lakers’ mojo going with a flying save of a rebound that became a Rui Hachimura layup.

Soon thereafter James went to the floor fighting for a ball, then missed a shot that Smart came out of nowhere to grab the offensive rebound, leading to two free throws that eventually put the game out of reach.

Even on a night when James scored 29 points, had 13 rebounds, and threw an ally-oop pass to son Bronny for a reverse layup — so cool! — the hero here was Smart.

He was signed by the Lakers last summer for his postseason toughness and savvy, and he showed every bit of it Friday, with 21 points, 10 assists and five steals. Not to mention, eight points in overtime.

“You got to leave it all on the court, because you never know,” Smart said. ”Because you never know. It can be taken away at any moment, right? And with two of our best players down, we got to play desperate. We got to be the most desperate team and that’s how we have been playing and that’s how we are winning, right? The chemistry has been built because of that.”

It’s a chemistry that works. It’s a chemistry that has built a faith even amid Friday night’s immeasurably high hurdle, a faith that should persist beyond the framework of this finished first-round series.

Down six. Thirty seconds left. Steal the game. Steal the series.

Believe.