The Los Angeles Lakers secured their third straight victory Sunday night behind Luka Doncic’s first triple-double of the season, overcoming shooting struggles with balanced scoring to defeat the Miami Heat 130-120 at Crypto.com Arena. The Lakers never trailed after jumping to an early 8-0 lead, with Austin Reaves and Jake LaRavia providing crucial offensive support to seal the win.
Luka Doncic dominated the game with 29 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists, according to ESPN, recording his 82nd career triple-double and first of the 2025-26 season. Despite struggling from beyond the arc, making just 1 of 11 three-point attempts, the Slovenian superstar impacted the game through playmaking and defense, adding three steals to his stat line.
“We get a win; it doesn’t matter how many I scored,” Doncic said in his postgame press conference, emphasizing the team victory over individual statistics.
Austin Reaves matched Doncic’s playmaking with 11 assists of his own while adding 26 points, despite connecting on only four of his 14 three-point attempts. The Lakers’ backcourt duo combined for 21 assists while orchestrating an offense that shot 50.5% from the field overall.
With the Lakers playing short-handed without LeBron James (sciatica) and Deandre Ayton (back spasms), several role players delivered standout performances:
- Jake LaRavia exploded for 25 points off the bench, nearly matching his season high, and added eight rebounds in his third straight strong performance.
- Jaxson Hayes started in place of Ayton and scored a season-high 15 points, perfect on all seven field goal attempts, including his first three-pointer as a Laker.
- Rui Hachimura contributed 15 points, while Marcus Smart recorded his 1,000th career steal in the victory.
The Lakers’ bench provided crucial energy, with LaRavia delivering multiple highlight-reel dunks, including a fourth-quarter alley-oop from Reaves that extended the lead to 118-110 with under five minutes remaining.
Heat’s Comeback Attempt Falls Short
The Miami Heat, led by Jaime Jaquez Jr., who scored a game-high 31 points, mounted a serious comeback attempt in the second half. Jaquez energized the Heat with an emphatic one-handed put-back dunk early in the fourth quarter that cut the Lakers’ lead to just two points, momentarily silencing the home crowd.
Bam Adebayo and Pelle Larsson each added 17 points for Miami, who fell to 3-3 with the loss. The Heat finished the third quarter on a 20-7 run to pull within four points heading into the final period but couldn’t complete the comeback as the Lakers pulled away in the closing minutes.
Social Media Erupts Over Bronny James Moment
While Bronny James didn’t fill the stat sheet, his first-quarter alley-oop dunk from Austin Reaves created an electric moment that had social media buzzing. The play prompted his father, LeBron James, to rise from the bench in celebration despite being sidelined with injury.
quickly circulated the highlight, with #Bronny trending locally in Los Angeles following the play. The dunk exemplified the Lakers’ unselfish ball movement that produced 33 total assists compared to just 11 turnovers.
The Lakers (5-2) continue their season with a quick turnaround, traveling to face the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday night. LeBron James remains targeting a return later this month, according to ESPN, while Deandre Ayton’s status for Monday’s game is uncertain after missing Sunday’s contest with back spasms.
The Miami Heat (3-3) move on to face the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday night as they continue their West Coast road trip, looking to bounce back from Sunday’s loss.
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