LeBron James, turning 39 years old in three weeks, was the best player on the floor Tuesday night in a single-elimination game that also featured Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Anthony Davis. A fortunate missed call by the officials helped the Los Angeles Lakers hold off the Phoenix Suns in the final seconds at Crypto.com Arena, too.
The moment purple-and-gold fans will remember most from their team's hard-fought 106-103 win over the Suns in the in-season tournament quarterfinals, though, didn't involve a future Hall-of-Famer nor a game-changing gaffe by the officials. Why? Austin Reaves' step-back three-pointer that put Los Angeles up four with 15 seconds remaining was just that epic.
AUSTIN REAVES FROM DOWNTOWN TO GIVE THE LAKERS A 4-POINT LEAD 🤯pic.twitter.com/ixehz8ePWZ
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) December 6, 2023
Lakers nation could barely contain its excitement, feting Reaves for another crunch-time gem.
HES BEEN SHOOTING IN THE CLUTCH HITTING THE TARGETS
— Delbeezee 🐍 (@delbeezee) December 6, 2023
Give me Reaves in the clutch over 90% of the league!
— Ray Valdivia (@valdivia_ray) December 6, 2023
AUSTIN HIM HIM REAVES 💪🏾💪🏾‼️
CLUTCH GENE ACTIVATED 💪🏾
— 🐐 (@KantKloneMe23) December 6, 2023




I got this LBJ!!
— Lachele Denyse (@lacmontez5) December 6, 2023
AR is HIMMM 🔥🐐 pic.twitter.com/OwCEbjgf58
— Dinesh Poudel (@p12861275) December 6, 2023
LeBron smiling in the back like a proud father.
— Labid Lazman Shidqi (@lbdlzmns) December 6, 2023
Reaves was stellar off the bench for the Lakers, dropping 20 points in 27 minutes en route to a team-best +17 plus-minus. James led the way, tying Kevin Durant for a game-high 31 points while further stuffing the stat sheet with eight rebounds, 11 assists and five steals. Anthony Davis played a massive part in his team advancing to Las Vegas, too, struggling from the field but still managing 27 points and grabbing six of his 15 boards on the offensive glass.
Next up for the Lakers? An in-season tournament semifinal battle with the New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday night in Sin City. The Pelicans, finally close to fully healthy, are primed to pose a stiff challenge to Los Angeles. But no team's fanbase travels better to Vegas than the Lakers', and especially with the NBA Cup on the line, expect Reaves, James, Davis and company to feel right at home in T-Mobile Arena.