LOS ANGELES — Marcus Smart leaned toward the microphone atop the podium as his press conference concluded — asking a question of the media after the Lakers stunned the Denver Nuggets 127-125 in overtime to win their fifth consecutive game Saturday night.
“Was it really a week and a half ago?” Smart asked, less than an hour after Luka Doncic drilled his first game winner as a Laker with 0.5 seconds left in overtime.
If there is a turning point, rewinding back to March 5 may be the place to start. The last time the Lakers (42-25) lost was against the Nuggets in Denver — 10 days ago — a defeat that despite falling short of a comeback effort, left Smart in a brighter mood than what could have been expected after a difficult stretch of results.
This wasn’t like Orlando or Phoenix – the back-to-back losses to help close February where the Lakers squandered double-digit leads and missed open looks for buzzer beaters. The defeat in Denver showed something different; a team that clawed back rather than folded when already down double-digits.
“Probably a month ago I’d probably say we’d definitely come out of here losing by 30 and not have a chance at the end,” Smart said March 5 in Denver, after the Lakers lost 120-113 to the Nuggets.
The Lakers have rolled through their last five games since, recording the 5th-best offensive rating (123.9) and 9th-best defensive rating (112.7) in the league in that span. They’ve won eight of their last nine, the only loss coming in Denver, as the Lakers’ stars and role players alike upped the ante as playoff positioning in the West remains up for grabs. Saturday’s result was proof of every Laker playing their role.
Center Deandre Ayton stymied Denver center Nikola Jokic in overtime, blocking a shot while scoring four of his nine points in the extra period. Forward Jake LaRavia made two late layups off the bench in regulation, helping the Lakers burrow their way to overtime as guard Austin Reaves converted a missed free throw-turned-game-tying floater as Ayton cleared the way with a physical box out.
LeBron James can still score when called upon, tallying 17 points on Saturday (more than three points fewer than his season average). He’s still doing the little things well in such a way that left him writhing on the hardwood in the fourth quarter. Trailing by one with under a minute to go, James burst from the low block, diving like Superman across the court for a loose ball rebound, beating Nuggets guards Christian Braun and Jamal Murray to the ball to force a tie up.
“Bron’s 50 years old, flying across the floor,” Reaves joked about James, 41.
Lakers coach JJ Redick spoke to James — who was slow to get up from the possession-saving play — after the game, thanking him for his hustle.
“In 23 years of watching you play in the NBA, the three years I watched you play in high school, I never saw you make a full-out-extension dive like that,” Redick told James.
James responded: “You’re right, I’ve never done that.”
James lost the jump ball on the following play, yet Smart secured a strip and steal seconds later to temporarily place the Lakers ahead 113-112 with a layup. Even when the results didn’t turn the Lakers way, the effort plays from stars and non-stars alike, nudged them toward their fifth straight victory ahead of the start of a six-game trip starting with the fourth-place Houston Rockets (41-25) on Monday.
“Our guys approached it like a playoff game,” Redick said. “They played it like a playoff game. It wasn’t perfect, but they stuck with it.”