LA survives an embarrassing Marcus Smart fumble in the final seconds
Marcus Smart he probably had the biggest sigh of relief afterwards The Los Angeles Lakers ran away with the San Antonio Spurs118-116, at Cripto.com Arena on Tuesday.
The Lakers were clinging to a precious two-point lead with just 1.2 seconds left in the game when Smart made input error. He tried a quick pass to Rui Hachimura, but he clearly stepped on the line.
There was a collective gasp from the fans as Smart looked embarrassed by his crucial turnover.
Fortunately for the Lakers, the Spurs didn’t capitalize on the ensuing possession, allowing the Purple and Gold to survive and extend their winning streak to five games and improve to 7-2.
San Antonio had a chance to send the game into overtime after Julian Champagne was fouled by Jake LaRavia with just 0.4 points left. Champagne, however, missed his free throw. He deliberately smothered his second attempt, but Spurs couldn’t put it back.
It was a hard-earned victory for the Lakers, who fell by as many as nine points in the fourth quarter. They rallied behind a balanced attack, with multiple players contributing on both ends. They finally took the lead 113-112 with 2:31 left after Luka Doncic buried a three-pointer.
Smart, Hachimura and Deandre Ayton sank critical free throws to give the Lakers a convincing victory.
Victor Vembanyama, who posterized Bronie James in the first halffouled out with 1:40 remaining on Hachimura’s run.
Doncic had another multi-color magic with 35 points, nine rebounds, 13 assists, five steals and two blocks, while Ayton had a double-double of 22 points and 10 rebounds along with two blocks.
Smart had 17 points, five rebounds, five assists, one steal and one block.
2025-11-06 06:29:00
