While struggling to get their top players all on the court at the same time, the Los Angeles Lakers will continue their season-long eight-game homestand when the Golden State Warriors pay a visit Saturday.
LeBron James started the season sidelined due to sciatica, Austin Reaves missed over a month with a calf injury and just as Reaves returned, Luka Doncic left Thursday’s win over the Philadelphia 76ers with a left hamstring injury.
Doncic will not play against the Warriors after he left in the second quarter of Los Angeles’ 119-115 comeback win. ESPN reports there is initial optimism that Doncic avoided a major injury, but the Lakers will have to play at least one game without him.
In only his second game back from his calf strain, Reaves came off the bench and demonstrated he’s ready to perform at a high level again. He scored 21 of his 35 points in the second half as the Lakers rallied from a 14-point third-quarter deficit.
“He was unbelievable (Thursday),” Lakers head coach JJ Redick said of Reaves, who is restricted to 25 minutes per game for now. “… He got to the free-throw line. He got in the paint and made plays and scored at the rim. It was great to see.”
James wasn’t at his best with 17 points on 7-for-17 shooting, but he was there for the Lakers when they needed him, scoring 10 in the fourth quarter. Reaves added 13 in the final period. Now, attention turns to Doncic’s health.
“He’s our best player and the engine of a lot of the stuff that we do,” Reaves said. “Hopefully we get good news, and I wish him nothing but the best.”
The Warriors will be in Los Angeles to face the Lakers for the first time since opening the season with a 119-109 victory. Jimmy Butler scored 31 points in that game, but he has long since been ruled out for the season.
Golden State traded Jonathan Kuminga for Kristaps Porzingis at the deadline, but its reported pursuit of Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo fell short. And star guard Steph Curry will miss his third straight game Saturday because of right knee soreness.
Pat Spencer scored 20 points while shooting 6 of 10 from 3-point range in Thursday’s 101-97 victory over the Phoenix Suns, while Gui Santos had 18 points and De’Anthony Melton added 17.
Brandin Podziemski played just 12 minutes while dealing with an illness.
The Warriors are eighth in the Western Conference but that has not stopped Draymond Green from thinking big.
“You just need a chance,” Green said Thursday about making the playoffs, while referencing Golden State’s 2022 title. “If you give yourself a shot at it, we know how to do it. I think that is a skill that probably 97% of the NBA does not have. They don’t know how to do it. We actually know how.”
The Warriors also traded center Trayce Jackson-Davis to the Toronto Raptors at the deadline, while the Lakers landed sharpshooter Luke Kennard from the Atlanta Hawks for Gabe Vincent and a second-round pick.
