JJ Redick is a self-proclaimed “basketball sicko.” So naturally the Lakers coach would find beauty in the chaos of his team building a 20-point lead in the fourth quarter, losing it in a maze of turnovers and missed shots, then clawing out a 116-114 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Sunday behind clutch free throws from LeBron James.
“It’s gonna sound sick: I love winning games like this,” Redick said with a slight smile. “… Winning ugly is actually really fun because it means you got in the trenches and you fought.”
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Ugly was only one way to describe the win that featured five technicals, one ejection and a late 20-point lead that evaporated into a one-point deficit with 12.2 seconds remaining when Dillon Brooks hit what looked like a dagger three-pointer over James.
Brooks, known as one of the NBA’s top antagonists, then bumped chests with James, resulting in a technical foul. Brooks had been jawing with James since the first quarter and was ejected for his second technical. James, who also picked up a technical reacting to Brooks in the third quarter, stepped to the line to shoot the potential tying free throw.
He missed.
Redick said Luka Doncic, who finished with a team-high 29 points and made 13 of 14 free throws, should have shot the free throw. James didn’t hesitate.
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“Why wouldn’t I?” said James, who scored 26 points. “I mean, I’d have been OK with Luka taking it too. We’ve both been in pressure situations, but I just took it. I mean, unfortunately, I missed it, but I made up for it.”
James still hit the decisive free throws with 3.9 seconds remaining after drawing a foul on Devin Booker while attempting a three. James made two of three free throws, then blocked Grayson Allen’s shot with 0.7 seconds remaining to seal the Lakers’ ninth clutch-time win of the season.
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Despite playing without Austin Reaves, who missed the game because of a calf strain, the Lakers (18-7) remained undefeated in games within five points in the final five minutes, a perfect record unmatched by any other team.
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“We stood together,” forward Jarred Vanderbilt said. “… We didn’t panic and that’s the reason we’re 9-0 [in clutch games]. We go over late-game situations in practice a lot, being able to see it [and] execute in real time is just a testament to the whole group.”
In his first significant playing time in more than a month, Vanderbilt led a tenacious bench that James said “won us the game.” Vanderbilt, who had fallen out of the rotation since James returned to the lineup, had seven points, seven rebounds, two steals, a block and one major, fourth-quarter three-pointer.
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After getting only five bench points from anyone not named Marcus Smart in their loss to the San Antonio Spurs last week, the Lakers had a balanced 30 on Sunday, led by Jaxson Hayes’ 12 points and nine rebounds. Jake LaRavia added six points, eight rebounds, two steals and two blocks.
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Hustle plays from LaRavia and Hayes powered the Lakers to a 15-0 run to close the third quarter, highlighted by a ferocious, two-handed dunk from Hayes. LaRavia intercepted a pass from Ryan Dunn and started the fast break, pausing in the paint to shovel a pass to Hayes, who cocked the ball behind his head before slamming it over Oso Ighodaro and getting fouled to give the Lakers an 80-77 lead with 2:24 remaining in the quarter.
A dunk from LaRavia with 8:40 remaining in the fourth pushed the lead to 20 points. The Lakers then let loose too early as Smart turned the ball over with a careless backward pass over his head. Instead of taking what could have been an easy layup, Smart, who saw Vanderbilt trailing the play and wanted to reward the hard-working big man, blindly tossed the ball straight to Allen. Brooks sparked the Suns’ comeback with a three on the next possession.
The roar from the crowd built as the Suns (14-12) sliced into the lead. They cut it to nine, the Lakers pushed it back to 14. Fans dressed in Lakers colors piped up, then sat down as the Suns grabbed momentum back. With James standing at the free-throw line in the final seconds as the crowd reached its peak, center Deandre Ayton, who finished with 20 points and 13 rebounds, paused to listen.
“Hearing the environment, hearing how the oohs and the ahhs, people knowing the outcome if you make these shots,” Ayton said, “yeah, it was a movie again.”
The crowd’s roar continued even as James dropped behind the tunnel’s curtain.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
