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Tonight, Luka Doncic and the Los Angeles Lakers emerged on top in a gritty matchup against the San Antonio Spurs, 118-116. The matchup stretched to almost 3 hours, marred by frequent free-throw stoppages and a total of 66 personal fouls between the two teams. As the Lakers made it out with a missed tip-in at the buzzer from the Spurs, head coach JJ Redick highlighted the team’s ability to keep its focus through this challenge. Redick acknowledged the flow of the game in the post-game interview, saying, “It was a hard game. This is not a critique of the officials. I actually thought they were consistent tonight, which is all you can really ask for.” He highlighted that the referees were consistent in their rulings, despite their unorthodox calls. He continued, “I think both teams just kind of got stuck in that cycle of , you know, this is how we’ve been taught to guard off-ball screens, and there was just a lot of touch fouls tonight. And it kind of disrupted the flow, I think, for both teams.” There were multiple odd calls tonight, which piled up and led to three Spurs players fouling out, and Doncic finished with five fouls by the end of the match. ADVERTISEMENT The flow halted most in the halfcourt, where San Antonio’s offense already ranks bottom-five in points per possession when forced to reset (according to Cleaning the Glass tracking). Their rhythm depends on early-clock advantages created by Wembanyama sealing deep or catching while moving. When those sequences were continuously stopped for fouls, the Spurs had to rely on late-clock self-creation, something their young roster isn’t built to do consistently yet. Meanwhile, the Lakers, who run the 4th-highest rate of delayed pick-and-roll entries in the league, are structurally better suited to re-initiate offense after stoppages. This wasn’t just both teams getting disrupted; the whistle tilted the game toward the more experienced decision-making team. Redick also pointed out the physical toll of the team’s scheduling, saying, “I woke up at 6:30 this morning and felt like a bus had hit me, and the cumulative effect of three or four nights getting into a city at 3:30 a.m. Thank you schedulers for that… It has a toll on the body, and I thought we came out flat.” The team has played three games in four days since 3rd November, facing Miami and Portland on a back-to-back, and now San Antonio. The Lakers’ travel isn’t just anecdotal; it has a measurable impact. Over the last four days, they logged 2,600+ miles of travel, including a Miami-to-Portland overnight turnaround that sports science research consistently identifies as one of the league’s highest fatigue signals. Teams playing on the third game in four nights with at least one cross-time-zone flight historically see defensive foul rates increase by 9–11% (per Second Spectrum). That showed tonight: many of L.A.’s early fouls came on late rotations and recovery closes, classic markers of fatigue. Redick’s frustration wasn’t excuse-making; it was pointing to a scientifically tracked disadvantage that directly shaped the game environment. ADVERTISEMENT The Lakers coach then praised how the Lakers performed, saying, “We responded during that second quarter. We got ourselves going… We had stretches where we played really good and we had stretches where we played really poor. Our group is so connected right now. We were able to get back together, and there was no quitting. There was no splintering.” LA was particularly locked in during the second tonight, outscoring the Spurs 34-30 to get themselves back into the game, leading by 1 at the half. ADVERTISEMENT Read Top Stories First From EssentiallySports Click here and check box next to EssentiallySports He particularly credited forward Rui Hachimura for making crucial plays when called upon, saying, “Rui made the two biggest plays of the game… He made that three, which was huge. And then the charge on Wemby. I looked it up, you know, his eighth charge of his entire career.” Redick referred to a key three from Hachimura in the fourth quarter to help the Lakers mount a comeback, and the charge on Victor Wembanyama to foul the center out for good with under two minutes on the clock. The win highlighted LA’s ability to overcome difficult challenges, especially when led by its floor general, Luka Doncic. ADVERTISEMENT Luka Doncic Leads Los Angeles Lakers’ Comeback Amid Injury Adversity JJ Redick praised Luka Doncic’s resiliency during the Lakers’ narrow win over the Spurs tonight. “The word of the day is resiliency,” he said. “I thought he showed that in the second half, playing through some foul trouble, playing through what quite honestly was a frustrating, abnormal offensive night for him… Without Austin [Reaves], without LeBron [James], his teammates are looking to him to kind of keep that resolve and keep that positive disposition, and he was able to do that throughout the game.” Doncic’s leadership kept his team focused and got them back in the game consistently, showing off growth that stood out. Doncic also delivered a near triple-double tonight, recording 35 points, 13 assists, and 9 rebounds, also logging a career-high five steals. He gave the Lakers the lead late in the fourth with a decisive three-pointer, and the Lakers didn’t trail for the remaining 2:31 on the clock. The team also converted on key free throws down the stretch to secure the win. ADVERTISEMENT The Spurs were led by young star Victor Wembanyama, who logged 19 points and 8 rebounds, but were completely derailed by foul trouble late in the game, especially with Wembanyama fouling out with 1:40 remaining. Sophomore Stephon Castle, Jeremy Sochan, and Devin Vassell added a combined 47 points, but it wasn’t enough. Despite leading by 9 in the fourth quarter, San Antonio blew multiple chances to take the game to overtime, including missed free throws by Julian Champagnie and a failed tip-in by Keldon Johnson.
