Luka Dončić has his first game winner for Lakers as focus turns to road trip

That was the kind of environment Luka Dončić envisioned he’d be playing in when he was traded to the Lakers last winter.

And that was the type of play the Lakers knew they’d get from Dončić when they brought him to Los Angeles. 

A playoff-like atmosphere against one of the league’s best teams in the Nuggets, featuring an all-time great player and three-time MVP in Nikola Jokic, with celebrities spread throughout Crypto.com Arena on a Saturday night.

Game on the line in overtime with the game clock winding down.

Catch the pass from Austin Reaves on the left wing — one of Dončić’s favorite areas on the court. 

Survey the options as the Nuggets send the double team.

Dribble left. Dribble again. One final dribble.

Gather. Step back from 18 feet. Let it fly. Swish; ball game to an ovation of 18,997 in attendance as they watched their franchise player hit a game-winner to end an undefeated five-game homestand with a 127–125 victory.

“Just a big-time shot by a f–king generational player,” LeBron James said of Dončić. “He’s just a big-time player, man. We wanted the last shot. We wanted to put the ball in our guy’s hands. It started with AR, AR was able to find him. He was able to get away from the double team and just hit one of his patented stepbacks. It’s going to be just the first of many game winners like that for him and in a Lakers uniform.”

Saturday was Dončić’s sixth career game-winning field goal in the final five seconds of a game.

But it was his first with the Lakers, creating a significant and unique stage for a player who’s reveled in those opportunities his entire NBA career.  

“A lot of legends played here,” Dončić responded when asked if opportunities like Saturday’s game was what he had in mind when he joined the Lakers. “They leave a lot behind with the Lakers. So obviously I did. And obviously, it was still a regular season, but that was a little bit of that feeling [on Saturday] for sure.”

Making matters better for the Lakers was the fact that Dončić wasn’t the only one making big plays late.

Austin Reaves had the other highlight play of the night when, with the Lakers down 118–116 with 5.2 seconds left in regulation, he intentionally missed his second free throw before grabbing the offensive rebound and hitting an eight-foot floater to tie the game at 118 apiece to send the game into overtime.

But there were so many other moments.

LeBron James continued to show commitment to winning and making winning plays by fully extending his 41-year-old body while diving on the floor for a loose ball to force a jump ball with the Lakers down, 112–111, with 54.6 seconds left in regulation.

After picking Aaron Gordon’s pocket, Marcus Smart made a layup in transition to momentarily give the Lakers a one-point lead in regulation. And when the game went into overtime, Smart once again stepped up with a 3-pointer that gave the Lakers a 125–123 lead with 31 seconds left.

Deandre Ayton played great defense in overtime, getting multiple stops on isolations against Jokic and Jamal Murray, including blocking Jokic late. Ayton held the star duo to a combined 1-of-5 shooting in the extra period, according to the NBA’s tracking data. Ayton also scored four points of his scoring total (nine) in overtime, with both of his buckets giving the Lakers a two-point lead in the extra frame. 

For the most part, every Laker who played on Saturday chipped in.

Everyone played their role, a sign of the group coming together entering the final month of the regular season. 

“It feels like we’re coalescing right now in a really nice way,” coach JJ Redick said. “Still got a long way to go, still got a long way to go, but certainly optimistic with how we handled this stretch of games and going eight in nine over the stretch — it’s big time. 

Even with the Lakers winning eight of their last nine games, climbing from sixth to third in the crowded Western Conference standings in the process, they know they can’t get too ahead of themselves. 

Yes, they’ve rattled off three consecutive wins against teams with winning percentages of .600 or better — something they had done just once in their previous 13 tries. 

But the road in front of them doesn’t get easier. 

They kick off a six-game trip with two matchups against the Rockets (41–25) in Houston on Monday and Wednesday as part of a swing that includes matchups against the a Heat team that’s won 10 of its last 13 games, a Magic team that was on a seven-game winning streak entering Sunday after beating the Heat on Saturday and the East-best Pistons. 

“It’s a good win for us, obviously,” James said. “But after [Saturday], we head for a six-game roadie. We got to be prepared for that and that starts in Houston. In this league, it’s great to enjoy the moment, but then you got to move on once that other moment comes.”

And if the Lakers showed anything on Saturday — and throughout the home stand — it’s that they’re ready to meet whatever moment is awaiting them. 

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