The Los Angeles Lakers made NBA playoff history by becoming the only team to win games while missing two players who each averaged 20+ points and hit 100+ threes in the regular season.
The Los Angeles Lakers are doing something the NBA has never seen before in the playoffs, and they are doing it while shorthanded once again.
Lakers beat the Houston Rockets 101-94 in Game 2, taking a 2-0 lead in their first-round playoff series and continuing a historic run that has never been done in league postseason history.
The key fact is simple but huge: in NBA history, only twice has a team won a playoff game while missing two players who each averaged at least 20 points per game and hit 100+ threes in the regular season. Both of those wins belong to this year’s Lakers, per OptaSTATS.
Los Angeles is doing it without Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, two major scoring and playmaking pieces.
Doncic had a dominant regular season, putting up 33.5 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 8.3 assists per game while shooting 47.6 percent from the field and 36.6 percent from three.
Reaves also played a big role, averaging 23.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 5.5 assists in 51 games, shooting 49.0 percent from the field and 36.0 percent from deep.
Even without them, the Lakers found a way again in Game 2. LeBron James led the way with 28 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists, while Marcus Smart added 25 points and Luke Kennard scored 23.
There is still hope for some reinforcements. Reaves has started light 1-on-1 work and could return later in the series, while Doncic is expected to miss the entire opening round.
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