Rookie Austin Reaves Rescues Los Angeles Lakers With Game-Winning Shot vs Dallas Mavericks

(Photo : Tom Pennington/Getty Images) DALLAS, TEXAS - Austin Reaves #15 of the Los Angeles Lakers reacts after shooting the game-winning shot against Tim Hardaway Jr. #11 of the Dallas Mavericks in overtime at American Airlines Center on December 15, 2021 in Dallas, Texas.

The Los Angeles Lakers extended their winning streak to three games with a thrilling 107-104 overtime victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night. Four players scored in double-figures for the red-hot Lakers, who jumped up to sixth place in the Western Conference standings with a 16-13 record.

Reaves the hero for Lakers in road win

Unheralded rookie Austin Reaves stepped up big time for the Lakers, draining the game-winning 3-pointer with less than a second remaining in the extra session. Reaves finished the game with 15 points as he set a new career-high in scoring. He was particularly deadly from beyond the arc, knocking down five of his six attempts from deep.

Reaves logged heavy minutes down the stretch for the Lakers. He played 9 ½ minutes in the fourth quarter and the entire five minutes of overtime. Reaves rewarded the Lakers' faith in him as he also recorded seven rebounds, two assists and one steal against the Mavericks.

The Lakers' Big Three all performed well in the win over Dallas. LeBron James led all Lakers scorers with 24 points on 9 of 19 shooting from the field. He also had five assists and three rebounds in 43 minutes of action. Russell Westbrook came one assist shy of another triple-double, finishing with 23 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists.

Anthony Davis made a triumphant return after missing the past two games with a sore left knee, scoring 20 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. It was Davis' sixth double-double of the season and the Lakers hope that Wednesday's performance will be the start of his resurgence.

COVID-19 outbreak hits LA

The Lakers managed to pull off the win despite missing three of their key players due to COVID-19. Dwight Howard, Talen Horton-Tucker and Malik Monk all tested positive for the coronavirus before the game against the Mavericks and were all placed on the league's health and safety protocols.

Joining those three players on the sidelines were assistant coach Phil Handy and play-by-play broadcaster Bill Macdonald, who both tested positive for COVID-19 as well. The Lakers got off to a strong start against Dallas, racing to a 33-23 lead after the first quarter.

The Mavs battled back strongly in the second quarter as they entered the halftime break with a 50-47 lead. It was a back-and-forth affair in the second half with both teams trading leads throughout the third and fourth quarters.

That proved to be the case as well in the overtime period with both teams creating great opportunities to record the win. Russell Westbrook made a huge 3-pointer with 23.5 seconds remaining in overtime to give Los Angeles a 104-101 lead.

The Mavericks answered right back with Maxi Kleber hitting a 25-foot banked shot to tie the game at 104. The Lakers had the last laugh, though, with Reaves nailing his first game-winning basket in the NBA.