The Lakers head coach spoke about his players’ efforts in a win over Dallas
JJ Redick was quick to give flowers to Luka Dončić, Austin Reaves and LeBron James – the Los Angeles Lakers’ three-headed monster – following his team’s 129-119 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Nov. 28.
“There’s a responsibility there to make good decisions, and I thought for the most part Luka [Dončić] and [Austin Reaves], and LeBron [James] with his passing as well, it was a great game for all three of them making good decisions,” Redick said in the postgame press conference.
Dončić, Reaves, and James not only made good decisions over the course of gameplay, according to Redick, but also lit up the box score.
Dončić finished with 35 points and 11 assists against his former team, Reaves had a team-high 38 points, as well as eight rebounds, and James tallied 13 points and seven assists. DeAndre Ayton and Rui Hachimura, to round out the starting lineup’s efforts on the night, also chipped in double-figure stat lines, scoring 17 and 14 points, respectively.
Redick went on to shed some light on what tripped the Lakers up throughout the game, but credited the team for committing fewer turnovers across the last 24 minutes coming out of halftime and rising above despite a strong shooting night for their opponent in the Mavericks.
“And then in the second half, we stopped turning the ball over, their guys kept making 3’s until the very end basically and we were able to get enough stops,” Redick added. "But, I think I said this before the game, this was one of those games where your offense has to help your defense, and to come away from that game, we’ll get the final numbers, with essentially a 138 offensive rating against the number two defense in the league, getting [Anthony Davis] back, I think it says a lot about our guys’ ability to execute and pass to each other and make shots.”
Per the most recent update, the Mavericks now sit at sixth in defensive rating in the league.
The Lakers are just 17th in defensive rating, but on the flip side, they are top-10 in offensive rating, sitting at sixth.
Los Angeles is now 14-4 on the season and currently holds the number two standing in the Western Conference, just four games behind the reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Lakers’ win over the Mavericks marked the team’s sixth in a row, and now they will look to make it seven when they take on the New Orleans Pelicans at 9:30 p.m. EST on Nov. 30.