On January 18th, Beijing time, the Lakers defeated the Nets 102-101 to secure their second consecutive victory. In a game without Davis, the Lakers' interior was riddled with weaknesses, making it difficult even against an Eastern Conference weak team like the Nets. They only led by 6 points at halftime, and by the end of the third quarter, the lead had been reduced to 4 points. However, in the final quarter, Reeves entered a state of Zone, scoring 15 points and providing 2 assists to help the Lakers secure the win. Russell's buzzer-beater attempt missed, and James protected the rebound to lock in the victory.
In a game where Davis was rested, the Lakers' interior became even weaker, with Hayes, Koloko, and Jamison (one on minimum wage, two on two-way contracts) starting. The Nets immediately capitalized on this, grabbing multiple offensive rebounds. The aging LeBron was truly unable to hold his ground. Christie hit two three-pointers, and after James left the court, both teams went through five scoreless rounds before Jamison entered the game. When James returned, he hit two three-pointers, relying on the 40-year-old veteran to take the lead by one point. In the first quarter, James shot 4-for-3, scoring 9 points, the only player with a shooting percentage above 50%.
In the second quarter, Reeves also hit a three-pointer, followed by Hayes' two-handed dunk. Reeves drove to the basket again, extending the lead to 6 points and forcing the Nets to call a timeout. Reeves was fouled on an outside three-point attempt and made all three free throws. Hachimura hit another three-pointer from beyond the arc, and Reeves stole the ball and scored, extending the lead to 9 points. Simmons committed an offensive foul and turned the ball over, while Reeves delivered a powerful dunk as part of a 21-7 run. The Lakers then became complacent, missing four consecutive shots, allowing the Nets to close the gap to 6 points. Both James and Reeves scored in double figures.
After halftime, the Nets launched a 15-9 run to level the score. Reeves drew a three-point foul, and James scored 4 consecutive points. Who could have predicted that the Lakers' offense would suddenly collapse? The Nets had two put-backs from offensive rebounds, and the Lakers' defense was too weak. Vincent stole the ball and scored in transition to take the lead. After a Nets timeout, they committed two turnovers, and Vincent drew an offensive foul. Vincent then hit a three-pointer, and James blocked a shot at the buzzer to end the third quarter with the Lakers leading by 4 points.
In the fourth quarter, the Nets started with a 6-2 run to tie the score, prompting a timeout from Redick. James and Reeves continued to hit three-pointers, and the Nets responded in kind. Russell also hit a three-pointer, and both teams' offenses came alive. Reeves hit a three-pointer while falling to the ground, Vincent scored a mid-range shot, and Reeves responded with a mid-range shot of his own. Reeves then hit a step-back three-pointer, but he missed several crucial shots, nearly allowing Russell to score the buzzer-beater.
In the final 101 seconds, from 1 minute and 58 seconds to 17.2 seconds remaining, Reeves missed all four of his shots, almost becoming the biggest culprit.
Reeves had a career night, setting a new high in scoring. In 37 minutes, he shot 13-for-23, including 4-for-8 from three-point range, scoring 38 points with 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, and 0 turnovers, achieving a field goal percentage of 56.5%, a three-point percentage of 40%, and a true shooting percentage of 74.5%.
Written by Yan Xiaobai: Lakers Watch