San Francisco — “Christmas in California” is not a distinctive movie. The only magical snowfall in the Bay Area on Wednesday came at the end of the Lakers-Warriors basketball game, when white confetti fell as carols played over the speakers at Chase Center.
Fans were largely unimpressed as Austin Reeves made the home team’s holiday sulky last minute.
Once they left, Reeves walked toward the center of the court and put on a headset to detail what happened in a postgame radio interview.
Reeves, sitting at the scorer’s table in a blizzard after the buzzer, seized the moment. He shouldn’t be in moments like this because he likes to remind people. He wasn’t good enough to be drafted. His town was too small to really recruit on a large scale. And he certainly wasn’t the kind of player you’d expect to take the ball and leave the NBA big stage after hitting the game-winning shot.
Lakers guard Austin Reeves scored the game-winning goal in a 115-113 win over the Warriors on Wednesday.
(Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images)
That’s what “they” believed. he? I’m not really surprised.
Still, Reeves’ Christmas performance caught even him off guard. He weaved through the Warriors’ defense to beat Golden State 115-113, earning his third triple-double in history.
“I’m not a very emotional person,” Reeves said of the moment at the scorer’s table. “…There was a moment when I almost burst into tears. And that doesn’t happen very often. But it’s Christmas…”
And for a moment, he thought about Arkansas and his friends and family. He thought about Germany, where his brother Spencer is one of the country’s top marksmen. He thought for a moment about the long odds on that scorer’s table.
“I know all my families back home are stuck in their homes and sitting with their families and watching the games. That means a lot to me,” Reeves said. “I always say, I didn’t necessarily have to be in this position. I got lucky, got my foot in the door, took advantage of the opportunity, and now I’m sitting here… …to Christmas with a game winner and a triple-double and really the most important win for me.”
After a six-turnover night in the Lakers’ loss to Detroit on Monday, Reeves bounced back with a strong game starting with 6.6 seconds left. He overcame a tough shooting start to score 16 of his 26 points in the second half. With the exception of D’Angelo Russell, who was unable to play due to a thumb sprain, and Anthony Davis, who could barely play due to an ankle sprain, Reaves had to take on more responsibility on both ends of the court. He, like his team, was perfect from the free throw line all game, including clutch shots.
But it wasn’t nearly enough because of Stephen Curry’s 17 points in the fourth quarter.
The Lakers erased a 10-point lead with 3:27 left thanks to back-to-back triples by Curry, and needed a final bucket with 6.6 seconds left to leave San Francisco with the victory.
“First of all, this play was not for me,” Reeves said.
The Lakers tried to get an inbounds pass to LeBron James, but Draymond Green and Curry followed.
“I think that 6.6 seconds of patience to get the ball and develop the play and get to our space, that was the biggest thing,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “It won’t speed him up so we can give him more room to operate.”
Max Christie cleared to the top of the key after the inbound. Gabe Vincent dragged Dennis Schroder to the opposite corner. And Rui Hachimura somehow forced Jonathan Kuminga, who was out of bounds on the baseline, to turn his back to the floor.
Reeves caught the pass and took a jab step to the right square to the rim and leapt over Andrew Wiggins. The defender scooped up a layup just before he could take his first winning shot of the season.
“It’s always great to have great options on the floor at the same time,” James said. “And AR has been in that position before.”
Reaves beat the Lakers in Dallas in his rookie season. He’s been hitting big shots ever since. But something about Christmas, something about this moment…
“Five seconds is a long time when it comes to basketball,” he said.
Against the Warriors on Christmas Day, five seconds was enough time to create a moment he’ll never forget.
