Shaquille O’Neal did not seem impressed by the Los Angeles Lakers’ latest win over the Denver Nuggets in overtime. The team has earned a 5-game winning streak after a long time and has won the regular season series with the Nuggets 2-1. The Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves duo fended off Nikola Jokic’s another (24-16-14) triple-double and Aaron Gordon’s breakout 27 points.
After the game, the Inside the NBA crew sat down to analyze the close overtime Lakers win, 127-125, and former Laker Shaq criticized the squad for blowing up a 15-point lead. Talking about how Reaves’ free-throw trick worked and the Lakers got to overtime, he said:
“If you have to rely on that you’re not going to win and not being a contender. I’m used to playing for coaches who wouldn’t be happy with that game… You up 15 at home you have to beat them by 15.”
However, this was not the first time the Lakers blew up a big lead over the Nuggets. The two teams have met multiple times in regular season and playoffs in the last few years, but the Lakers have not been able to contain the Nuggets. The latter leads the head-to-head in the last 20 games with 15-5.
Finally, overcoming the Nuggets’ challenge would surely boost the Lakers’ confidence before the postseason finally sets in. Other Inside the NBA crew members disagreed with Shaquille O’Neal’s stance and believed that beating the Nuggets in such a close game is in itself a big confidence booster for the side.
Luka Doncic drills the game-winner after Austin Reaves’ 100 IQ play in the Lakers’ win
Luka Doncic registered the second triple-double of the game, scoring 30 points, 11 rebounds, and 13 assists. Reaves also had a good game, leading the team with 32 points. In the final minutes of regulation, the two teams were playing a foul game while the Nuggets maintained a 3-point game to keep it far from the Lakers.
However, while Reaves was on the free-throw line with 5.2 on the clock, he missed the second attempt on purpose to collect the rebound off the ring. He instantly grabbed the ball and shot a baseline floater that went directly inside to tie the game.
At the end of overtime, the Lakers and the Nuggets were again tied with 14.2 on the clock. Reaves took 7-8 seconds off the clock and passed the ball to Luka Magic, who then went on to make a baseline jumper over Spencer Jones with 0.5 seconds remaining in the regulation time.
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