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Tag: Luka Dončić

  • Lakers Expect Luka Dončić, LeBron James Healthy vs Clippers

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    The Los Angeles Lakers are expected to be fully healthy against their game against the Los Angeles Clippers on Feb. 20, the first game after the break

    As the Los Angeles Lakers return from the All-Star break, the team expects to be fully healthy, which hasn’t been the case for most of the season. Guard Luka Dončić, Guard Austin Reaves and forward LeBron James have only played 10 games together this season.

    James missed the start of the season due to sciatica, but has played in most games since he returned Nov. 18, outside of three instances where he sat for the second game of a back-to-back. He is expected to play in the first game after the break.

    Dončić — the NBA’s leading scorer average 32.8 PPH and third-ranked in MVP rankings — has been out with a left hamstring strain since Feb. 5. Lakers Head Coach JJ Redick said he expects Dončić to be available. Dončić played for five minutes for Team World in the NBA All-Star game on Feb. 15.

    “I was on minutes restriction,” Dončić said. “It was definitely good to get up and down a little bit [at practice] after having a week off.”

    Reaves was out for five weeks from Dec. 25 through Feb. 3 with a calf injury. In the five games Reaves has played since being back, he’s been on a minute restriction, but Redick said he will no longer be a restriction after the break.

    Up until Reaves injured his calf, he was the ninth-leading scorer in the NBA average 27.8 PPG.

    “It’s funny, we were talking before the season about building continuity with those three guys, and we’ve had them available together for 10 games,” Redick said. “It’s just the situation we’re in. We’re not the only team that has had a bunch of health issues throughout the season and had to manage that, but my message to the players this morning was that this is going to be a sprint for these last 28 games.”

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    Center Deandre Ayton sat the final two games before the break with right knee soreness, but is expected to be back after the break.

    The Lakers are in fifth place in the Western Conference at 33-21, and their next game is tomorrow against the Los Angeles Clippers at Crypto.com Arena.

    “You can tell throughout the season, even with the unfortunate injuries, we’ve done a good job maintaining it,” Reaves said. “We’re on pace for a good record, and getting healthy is going to help that. It’ll be fun to see what that looks like.”

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    Tony Gleason

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  • Lakers Stars Expected to Return in Game Against Mavericks – LAmag

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    Forward LeBron James, among other players, are expected to return in tonights game against the Dallas Mavericks after sitting for the Feb. 10 game against the San Antonio Spurs

    The Los Angeles Lakers are taking on the Dallas Mavericks tonight at Crypto.com Arena at 7 p.m. During the Lakers’ most recent game — their Feb. 10 136-108 loss against the San Antonio Spurs — Los Angeles sat their entire regular starting lineup.

    For tonight’s game, the only players on the injury report are center Deandre Ayton, who is questionable due to right knee soreness, and guard Luka Dončić, who has been out since Feb. 5 with a left hamstring strain.

    The Lakers have beaten the Mavericks twice this season. Their first victory was a 129-119 win on Nov. 28, and the second was a 116-110 win on Jan. 24.

    Ahead of the game against the Spurs, Dončić, forward LeBron James, guard Austin Reaves and guard Marcus Smart were listed as out on the injury report for various reasons. After James sat out Feb. 10, it is no longer possible for James to meet the 65-game minimum for him to be eligible for postseason awards, ending his 21-year long streak.

    After the Lakers lost, ESPN TV personality Stephen A. Smith was critical of the Lakers’ decision not to play their everyday starters.

    “Work it out,” Smith said. “If you got LeBron James off, make sure somebody else is playing. If you got Austin Reaves off, make sure somebody else is playing,” he continued. “But then everybody? That is disrespectful and insensitive and dismissive to the fans. And somebody needs to say it.”

    For tonight’s game, the Mavericks have a handful of players on the injury report, as star-rookie forward Cooper Flagg has a left midfoot sprain that will keep him out of action through the All-Star break, with three other players listed as doubtful and two more listed as questionable.

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    Tony Gleason

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  • Lakers Eliminated From NBA Cup After 132–119 Loss to Spurs

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    Center Victor Wembanyama missed the Lakers game with an injury despite the Spurs victory

    The Lakers are eliminated from the NBA Cup quarterfinal.

    But despite the loss, forward and future NBA Hall of Famer LeBron James doesn’t want to look ahead to what the defeat implies about the playoffs.

    “I can’t think about what we can do in the playoffs in December. What I can say is that the habits that we built throughout the regular season each month, if we are in a position to make it to the postseason and be able to get to that point, well, we have to build it now. But as far as talking about what type of damage we’re gonna do in the postseason in December, that’s not right for the basketball gods, not for me,” James said.

    A first-quarter lead the San Antonio Spurs built proved to be insurmountable for the Los Angeles Lakers as the squad fell 132-119 on Wednesday in San Antonio at the Frost Bank Center. The Spurs finished the first up nine, the half up 12, and the third quarter up 17 – with the largest lead culminating at 24 – resulting in the Spurs’ 13-point win.

    The San Antonio Spurs’ victory was particularly notable considering the squad was without center Victor Wembanyama, who is averaging 26.2 points, 11 rebounds, and 3.7 blocks per game on a 47.3% field goal percentage through 12 games of the 2025-2026 campaign.

    In his place, guard and reigning Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle paced the Spurs with 30 points while shooting 10-for-14 from the field and 50% from beyond the arc.

    Three of the Spurs’ starters garnered double-digits, with backcourt tandem De’Aaron Fox ranking second on the team in points with 20, including knocking down four 3-pointers.

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    On the other side of the hardwood, guard Luka Dončić paced the team with 35 points, his ninth straight 30-plus point performance of the season. James followed behind Dončić with 19 points while shooting 50% from the field, continuing to illustrate that he has gas in the tank after a string of struggling performances.

    The most notable difference between the two teams came down to contributions from the bench. The Spurs reserves outscored the Lakers 48-31 from the bench, with guard Marcus Smart adding 26 of the Lakers’ 31 from the pine. Smart’s performance marked his first game back from injury, illustrating a key backcourt addition the Lakers have in their reserves.

    Meanwhile, the Spurs posted three double-digit scorers from the bench, including Keldon Johnson, Dylan Harper, and Julian Champagnie.

    After the defeat, the Lakers will embark on a four-game road trip that will start in Phoenix on Sunday and end again against the Suns on December 23rd.

    The Lakers are 17-7 in the NBA’s Western Conference and sit in fourth in the conference, 6.5 games back from the NBA-leading Oklahoma City Thunder.

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    Connor Dullinger

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  • Lakers Look to Rebound vs. Injury-Depleted Pelicans on Road Trip

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    The Pelicans sit at last place in the Western Conference and the Lakers have lost two of its last three

    The Lakers can get back in the win column on Friday.

    After losing two out of its last three – despite starting the season 7-2 – the Los Angeles Lakers will face the New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana, for the Lakers’ fourth game of their five-game road trip.

    The Lake Show is coming off a 29-point defeat to the reigning NBA champions Oklahoma City Thunder.

    The Pelicans are 2-9 on the season and sit in last place in the Western Conference. The New Orleans squad started the season on a six-game losing streak, before winning back-to-back contests, but has since lost three in a row, riding into the affair against the Lakers.

    After a series of injuries, the Lakers are almost back to full strength. Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves are back in the lineup, but Gabe Vincent, Adou Thiero, and LeBron James remain sidelined due to injury.

    James has yet to play a game this season as sciatica on the right side has kept him from game action, but his return is on the horizon.

    But the Lakers are no the only team without one of its star players. The Pelicans are without three of their top players for Friday’s contest, including two of their top three scorers. Forward – and former No. 1 overall pick –  Zion Williamson is out with a hamstring injury but leads the Pelicans in scoring and assists and ties for the team lead in rebounds.

    Williamson has only played five games this season but is averaging 22.8 points, 6.8 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game.

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    Guard Jordan Poole, the team’s third leading scorer, is out with a left quadriceps strain, but was averaging 17.3 points and 3.4 assists per game on a 38.6% shooting percentage from beyond the arc.

    The last Pelican to miss the Lakers contest is guard Dejounte Murray, who has missed the entirety of the season with an Achilles injury and will not return until at least after New Years.

    With the absence of Murray, Williamson, and Poole, forward Trey Murphy III has taken over the bulk of the scoring.

    The 2021 First Round pick is averaging 18.1 points and 3.7 assists per game while also tying Williamson for the team lead in rebounds.

    Murphy leads a tandem of rookies on the Pelicans’ hardwood. 2025 First Round pick duo guard Jeremiah Fears and center Derik Queen. 

    Fears has solidified his starting spot in the backcourt and has averaged 14 points per game on a 37% shooting split from beyond the arc. However, Fears has struggled with his overall shooting efficiency, maintaining just a 39.2% field goal percentage. 

    Similarly, Queen has been a solid replacement with Williamson out with injury, joining center Kevon Looney in the frontcourt. Queen is averaging 10.7 points and 5.6 rebounds per contest despite playing just 21.5 minutes per game.

    The former Maryland star has shown the ability to dominate in the interior with his length, touch and footwork around the rim, and diverse offensive skillset to boast a 52.5% field goal percentage.

    Guard Saddiq Bey has stepped in to fill the holes in the Pelicans’ roster with all of the team’s injuries.

    Bey – despite being listed as a guard – stands at 6-foot-8 and has been able to play guard, wing, or stretch four in the Pelicans rotation and has started since the departure of Williamson.

    Bey is averaging 12.6 points per game on a 40.4% 3-point percentage and has also attacked the boards, grabbing 4.4 rebounds per game.

    With all of the injuries on the Pelicans roster, its depth will need to step up against the Lakers in its home game, where tip-off will commence at 5 p.m.

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    Connor Dullinger

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  • Reaves 51-Point Performance Fuels Lakers Victory – LAmag

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    Hachimura and Ayton joined Reaves to help cover the loss of LeBron James

    The Lakers received bad news before the season even started.

    In early October, the Los Angeles team announced that star small forward and future Hall of Famer LeBron James would miss the season opener and the first three to four weeks of the season due to sciatica on his right side.

    When the Lakers’ star player went down, other playmakers had to rise to the occasion.

    And 27-year-old guard Austin Reaves responded emphatically, putting the team on his back Sunday night, scoring a career-high 51 points against the Sacramento Kings in a 127-120 victory at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California. 

    The 51-point performance gave the Lakers their second consecutive victory – after beating the Minnesota Timberwolves by 18 on Friday, in which Reaves added 25 points and 11 assists – and elevated the Los Angeles side to a 2-1 record.

    James’ absence from the hardwood has meant a heavily increased contribution from Reaves, with the 6-foot-five shooting guard getting ample opportunities with the ball in his hand.

    And the fifth-year player has yet to disappoint, averaging 34 points per game across the first three contests of the season. Reaves has also dipped his foot into other areas of the game outside of scoring. 

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    The shooting guard has fortified the backcourt alongside Luka Dončić, giving the Lakers not only a formidable ball handler but also a guard who can make plays for his teammates.

    Reaves is averaging 9.7 assists across the first three games of the 2025-2026 campaign and has yet to produce fewer than nine assists in a game. 

    “The biggest thing from tonight was our passing,” said Lakers head coach JJ Redick after the Lakers’ last preseason game. “The reality is we should have had about 35 assists, we got to figure out our lobs and we had a couple Harlem Globetrotter plays when the simple play was right there. We had multiple possessions where everyone touched it, we created multiple advantages, got good shots, some of which we didn’t make but I liked our offensive flow and execution for most of the game.”

    The former Oklahoma star’s ability to successfully facilitate the offense has allowed Lakers shooters to combine for an efficient 54.1% shooting percentage from the field. Reaves has also put in work on the offensive and defensive glass, as he is averaging 7.7 boards per game through three contests so far.

    Reaves is not the only contributor to take advantage of James’ absence, either.

    New Lakers center Deandre Ayton has seen his production steadily increase as he finds his footing in a new environment. The Bahamas local is averaging 15.7 points per game and has steadily increased his point total from 10 to 15 to 20 over the first three games of the season. 

    Ayton boasted a season-high 20 points in the Lakers’ most recent victory against the Kings and has excelled in the pick-and-roll game early in the season. 

    “When I’m setting screens it’s not only for the two guys in the screen its more for my shooters to get open,” Ayton said after the Lakers’ preseason game to the Kings. “Once I get those open, they hit one or two of them, my paint start to open up and the defense starts to be a little bit more honest. Me and Luka get pretty free to hit the pocket or finish the rolls.” 

    Ayton’s rebounding efforts have also steadily increased, which has been vital to the Lakers’ success as Ayton was brought to Los Angeles to fortify the Lakers’ front court, as many attributed last season’s struggles to a lack of a true center.

    The center is averaging 9.7 rebounds per game and logged a season high 15 boards against the Kings. Forward Rui Hachimura has also seen his contributions increase. He is currently averaging a career high 16.7 points on a 4.5% shooting percentage from beyond the arc.

    The revamped Laker lineup will continue its LeBron-less play Monday night at Crypto.com Arena against the Portland Trailblazers.

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    Connor Dullinger

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