Ever since the trade deadline, the Los Angeles Lakers have been laser-focused on making a push for the playoffs. With all the new players they acquired at the deadline, the Lakers had been playing at a high level, but on Friday night, they stumbled.
LA dropped their game against the Dallas Mavericks in excruciating fashion, as Maxi Kleber nailed a game-winning three-point shot at the buzzer to win the game. After the contest, Austin Reaves gave a harsh reality check about the team’s mood in the locker room.
“The mood is obviously down,” Reaves said of the Lakers locker room via the NBA Interviews YouTube channel. “I mean, just because you lose a tough one and one that we really wanted, one that we needed. We need them all from here on out. But we’re a group of competitors. So that’s obviously why I’d be worried if the mood wasn’t like that. Just because, if you don’t care about losing games that are really meaningful, then what’s the point of playing? So I thought the mood was exactly what it should have been. Go in tomorrow, watch a lot of film, and learn from our mistakes. I think we’ve bounced back pretty good with this group after losses. I don’t know if we’ve had back-to-back losses until now. But we got to figure out how we move on and play the next game.”
Reaves didn’t put up amazing stats against the Mavericks. The Lakers guard finished the game with nine points, three points, and three assists on 3-of-6 shooting from the field and 1-of-3 shooting from behind the three-point line.
Anthony Davis Explains End to Mavs Game
The ending to the Lakers-Mavericks game was ugly, as Anthony Davis fouled Kleber on the previous play and then sagged off, allowing him to nail the game-winner. After the game, Davis spoke about the final possession of the game.
“With seven seconds, he [Irving] dribbled almost the whole clock out,” Davis said via the NBA Interviews YouTube channel. “Me just reading him. Knowing that he’s probably going to take the last shot. He goes into his actual shooting motion and just comes down with it. He doesn’t shoot it. So, when he goes up [and] it kind of pulled me in. I was going for the rebound. Thought he was shooting it. He made a pass to Kleber. He makes the shot.”
Darvin Ham Discusses Final Play vs. Mavs
Lakers head coach Darvin Ham also had some words about the final play of the contest. He spoke about Davis’ last-second contest but also praised Kleber for nailing the shot.
“I mean, he got pretty much a line-drive pass over to [Maxi] Kleber,” Ham said via the NBA Interviews YouTube channel. “He started torching us a little bit down the stretch, thus, our decision to start blitzing him and double-teaming him. We made it difficult. Tried to be as active as possible. He found an open guy, and we didn’t get there fast enough. But AD had a last-minute, outstretched contest. But it’s tough. It’s like Indiana all over again. But at the end of the day, NBA players are highly talented. An elite skill level.”
