Christmas in California isn’t a Hallmark movie. The only magical snowfall in the Bay Area on Wednesday came when white confetti fluttered down at the end of a basketball game between the Lakers and the Warriors while a carol played over the Chase Center loud speakers.
The fans were mostly unimpressed, Austin Reaves having grinched the home team’s holiday moments earlier.
As they walked out, Reaves walked toward the middle of the court, putting on a headset to dissect what had just happened in a postgame radio interview.
Sitting down on the scorer’s tables during the post-buzzer blizzard, the moment wasn’t lost on Reaves. He, as he’s fond of reminding people, isn’t really supposed to be in these moments. He wasn’t good enough to get drafted. His town was too small for him to really get heavily recruited. And he certainly wasn’t the kind of player that you’d expect to be leaving the NBA’s marquee game with the ball after hitting the winning shot.
That’s what “they” have believed. Him? Less surprised.
Still, Reaves’ Christmas performance caught even him off guard. He’d wrapped his third-ever triple-double by sliding past the Warriors defense to beat Golden State 115-113.
“I’m really not really an emotional person,” Reaves said of the moment at the scorer’s table. “… There was a quick second where I thought I might tear up. And that doesn’t happen a lot. But it’s Christmas…”
And for a moment, he thought about Arkansas and his friends and family. He thought about Germany, where his older brother, Spencer, is one of the top shooters in the country. He thought, for a tick, about the long odds to that scorer’s table.
“I know all my people back home are locked in and sitting around with family watching the game and that means a lot to me,” Reaves said. “I say it all the time, I’m not necessarily supposed to be in this position. I got lucky, got my foot in the door and took advantage of an opportunity. And now I’m sitting here … on Christmas with a game-winner and a triple-double, and really the win that matters the most to me.”
Following a six-turnover night in the Lakers’ loss to Detroit on Monday, Reaves rebounded with a strong game even before the final 6.6 seconds. He powered through a rough shooting start to score 16 of his 26 points in the second half. Minus D’Angelo Russell, who didn’t play because of a sprained thumb, and Anthony Davis, who barely played because of a sprained ankle, Reaves had to take on more responsibility on both ends of the court. He, like his team, was perfect at the free-throw line all game, including the clutch.
But because of Stephen Curry’s 17-point fourth quarter, it almost wasn’t good enough.
The Lakers saw their 10-point lead with 3:27 left vanish thanks to a flurry of Curry triples, the Lakers needing a final bucket with 6.6 seconds left to leave San Francisco with a win.
“To start off,” Reaves said, “the play was not for me.”
The Lakers tried to get the inbounded pass to LeBron James, but Draymond Green and Curry followed him.
“The patience, I think, with 6.6 seconds to just get the ball and let the play develop and let us get to our space, that was the biggest thing,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “Not going fast and allowing us to get him room to operate.”
Max Christie cleared to the top of the key after inbounding. Gabe Vincent dragged Dennis Schroder to the opposite corner. And Rui Hachimura, somehow, got Jonathan Kuminga to turn his back to the floor while he was out of bounds on the baseline.
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Reaves caught the pass, squared to the rim, jab-stepped right and flew past Andrew Wiggins. He scooped the layup in before a defender came close to challenging his first winning shot of the season.
“It’s always great to have great options out on the floor at the same time,” James said. “And AR has been in that position before.”
Reaves won the Lakers a game his rookie season in Dallas. He’s hit big shots since. But something about Christmas, something about the moment…
“Five seconds is a long time when it comes to basketball,” he said.
On Christmas against the Warriors, five seconds was enough time to create a moment he’ll never forget.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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