Lakers pull off comeback win over 76ers despite Luka Doncic’s early exit

LOS ANGELES — A team’s first game after the NBA trade deadline can get weird.

The same can be said after a lengthy road swing, which the Lakers were coming off of after their two-week “Grammy” trip.

And the Lakers experienced all sides of a strange night in Thursday night’s 119-115 win over the Philadelphia 76ers at Crypto.com Arena.

There was star guard Luka Doncic leaving the game in the second quarter because of left leg soreness, with it not being immediately clear how he suffered an apparent injury to his hamstring area, which he was grabbing after he was cut off on a drive to the basket late in the second. 

The Lakers, already with Jaxson Hayes (one-game suspension) and Luke Kennard (trade acquisition) had to make significant changes to their already rotation, and even more once Doncic left the game. 

All on top of just being two days removed from being in the Midwest and East Coast for 1 ½ weeks.

Despite all of the factors, the Lakers successfully pulled off a 14-point comeback behind a stellar second half from Austin Reaves, who led the Lakers with 35 points and six rebounds off the bench in just his second game back from his left calf injury.

LeBron James had a 17 point-10 assist double-double, having strong late moments to make up for his turnover struggles, with James scoring 10 points in the fourth. James had eight of the Lakers’ 22 giveaways, including a turnover on a late inbounds play.

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Maxi Kleber, who’s been in the Lakers’ rotation just once over the last month, provided game-changing energy. Even though it didn’t show up with traditional box score stats, Kleber had a game-best plus-23 individual plus/minus.

What it means

There were clear positives and negatives from Thursday night.

The positive: Reaves looked like his pre-injury self in just his second game back from a calf injury that sidelined him for nearly six weeks. 

The clear negative was Doncic’s injury, with there being uncertanity about his status moving forward beyond Thursday.

But another positive was the Lakers moving to 31-19 on the season, maintaining a pace to win 50 games in the 50th game of the season. 

Turning point

When Rui Hachimura scored seven straight points for the Lakers late in the third quarter to cut the team’s deficit to two entering the fourth.

The Lakers, who didn’t have a lead in the first three quarters, cut what was once a 14-point deficit early in the third to five multiple times later in the quarter.

But they needed one big push to truly threaten the 76ers, and Hachimura provided that. 

On three straight possessions, Hachimura knocked down a corner 3, a stepback 14-footer and a pair of free throws after drawing a shooting foul to cut the Lakers’ deficit from 83-78 to 87-85 by the end of the third. 

Hachimura finished with 14 points and seven rebounds off the bench.

MVP: Austin Reaves

Reaves scored 21 points in the second half, including key buckets early in the fourth to give the Lakers their first lead.

He shot 12-of-17 from the floor for the game, including 5 of 8 on 3s. 

Stat of the game: 61

That’s how many poinst the Lakers got from their bench, which averages a league-worst 27.3 points.

Reaves was responsible for the scoring punch from the reserves, but he wasn’t alone, with each bench player having strong moments. 

Up next

The Lakers’ will continue their lengthy homestand with a primetime matchup against the Golden State Warriors at Crypto.com Arena.

It’ll be the second of eight consecutive home games the Lakers have sandwiched around All-Star weekend.

Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: nypost.com