The Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers went to battle on Wednesday night, with the Lakers eventually winning by a score of 130-125 in overtime thanks to a big outing from LeBron James. James was on fire in this one for the Lakers, and it led to a hilarious admission from Austin Reaves on one of the highlights of the game.
Midway through overtime, Reaves and James were racing down the court on a 2-1 fastbreak, which resulted in James flushing home a big alley-oop off of a pass from Reaves. After the Lakers won, Reaves admitted he could have shot the ball, but while he was going down the floor with James, he knew that there was no chance he would be shooting the ball, and that he would be throwing a pass up to James.
“At no point (once) I got that ball did I think I was gonna shoot it. I seen him and I was gonna pass it the whole way.”
Austin Reaves on overtime alley-oop to LeBron James.
(via @michaelcorvoNBA) pic.twitter.com/6O3cU3hPaE
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) November 2, 2023
LeBron James reacts to his highlight-reel play with Austin Reaves




While Reaves clearly made the right call to pass the ball to James here, the legendary forward proved his skills are not eroding just yet with his big night (35 PTS, 12 REB, 7 AST, 13-19 FGM) that led his team to victory in the battle of Los Angeles. When reflecting on the play, James said he was grateful to still be able to convert alley-oops like that, while also shouting out Reaves in the process.
LeBron James on his alley-oop with Austin Reaves late in overtime of Lakers-Clippers last night:
"Happy I'm still able to go get 'em at this point in my career… Magic [Johnson] and Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar] created Showtime… Trying to keep that going. These fans always love the… https://t.co/NJaQAa5RYi pic.twitter.com/kHejDkQAEC
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) November 2, 2023
James' greatness has been on full display early on this season with the Lakers, and he's got a great supporting cast of guys like Reaves helping him continue to dominate the league, even in his 21st season. This was a great win for the Lake Show, and if James can continue to play at this high level, this team could end up accomplishing some big things this season.