The game was tied at 99-all with just one minute and 31 seconds left in the ball game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday, Philippine time. It was the West Play-In Tournament, with the winner securing a berth in the playoffs.
It was at this time that starting point guard D'Angelo Russell stole the ball, passing it to Austin Reaves, who lobbed it to Anthony Davis for the alley-oop.
Lakers get the lead, 101-99.
With under a minute remaining, D-Lo went right in front of the Pelicans bench to launch a three. The lead blew up to four.
The Lakers eventually won the ball game, 110-106, and punching a ticket to the playoffs as the seventh seed.
"It revealed a lot about is, the way we're made of. D-Lo getting back, sprinting back, coming up with a huge steal, hitting a huge bucket in front of their bench... it's a microcosm of what we have to be in the playoffs," said coach Darvin Ham after the game.
Russell in particular finished with 21 points, six assists, one steal, and one block. For Reaves, he kept the Lakers in the fight.
"One thing about us as a group, we know how good he is," AR said after the game. "Especially in the first quarter, he singlehandedly kept us in the game. Could've been way worse than what it was."
"D-Lo initiating, making big plays in big moments," Ham noted.
Even former Lakers have taken note of what D-Lo can do for the purple and gold. Derek Fisher, who came to Metro Manila on Wednesday to lead the Jr. NBA Philippines coaches' clinic, spoke highly of the point guard.
"I don't think he's just taking his game to another level, I think he's evolved as a person and as a man," the five-time NBA champion with the Lakers said. "His timely three-point shooting, his confidence, his swagger, those are the things the Lakers are gonna need vs the Nuggets."
It's a daunting task--taking on the defending champions right in the first round of the playoffs. Fisher has plenty of confidence in his former team though.
"In the last month and a half, other than the couple of games Anthony Davis missed due to the eye injury, I don't know if anybody record-wise has been better than the Lakers," he said.
"Hell of a ball club. We'll have to go out, our best food forward and execute at a high level because that's what they do," Reaves said.
But for Ham, the grit has to be there.
"You can't fake it. If you wanna win big, you're gonna have to defend and rebound... especially with who we're gonna face, our defense has to be on point," the coach said.
Fisher though stresses that it shouldn't just be LeBron James and Anthony Davis. It has to start with D-Lo too.
"Obviously, LeBron and AD make things go. But D'Angelo to me is the X-factor that gives Lakers the chance," Fisher noted. "If he's playing well, they're hard to beat."
Game 1 of the Western Conference first round playoffs between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Denver Nuggets will take place on Sunday, April 21, at 8:30 a.m. It will be available via the NBA League Pass.
