Austin Reaves makes blunt admission about Lakers’ stretch-run mindset

The Los Angeles Lakers have won five straight after defeating the Denver Nuggets on Saturday night, and Austin Reaves made it crystal clear that getting victories is the team’s sole focus down the stretch. AR deserves tons of credit. He intentionally rebounded and scored off his own missed free throw to force overtime in a must-win game. The Lakers are rolling, and fans should be excited for what’s ahead.

Saturday’s win secured the Lakers' season series against the Nuggets and a crucial playoff seeding tiebreaker. LA is dominating the Pacific Division, which matters in three-team scenarios. They are fighting for the third seed, but just three games separate third and seventh in the crowded Western Conference. Every game matters, which makes the purple and gold’s focus even more important.

It would have been easy for the Lakers to fold on Saturday night. They were dominating in the first half and seemingly couldn’t miss from 3-point range, but the Nuggets fought back with a 37-point third quarter to tie the game. Denver took control in the fourth and looked to have things wrapped up. Luckily, the Lakers stuck to their focus and kept fighting. The result was a massive victory.

Austin Reaves says the Lakers are all-in on winning

Reaves was interviewed on the court by Mike Trudell after the win, where he made the team’s focus clear.

“We are bought into one thing, and that’s winning. I think that showed tonight. The second half wasn’t great, but I thought we were good basically the whole first half, besides a little bit at the end of that second quarter. Even when they made their run, we didn’t waver, we didn’t fold. We kept fighting.”

Reaves being able to rebound his own missed free throw and score was improbable. The Lakers needed it, and AR delivered. It was the biggest and best moment of the star's 32-point night. Fans can see the outstanding play again below.

Reaves finished with seven rebounds, six assists, one steal, and one block in 46 minutes of action to go with his game-high 32 points.

It was a total team effort in the win. Luka Doncic had a 30-point triple-double. Marcus Smart chipped in 21 points and five steals. LeBron James made an insane hustle play to go with his 17 points, six boards, and five dimes. Deandre Ayton closed the game with a couple of clutch stops on Nikola Jokic to make sure LA got the win.

The Lakers desperately need this focus down the stretch if they are going to be the third seed in the West. There are no easy outs in the playoffs, so homecourt advantage is significant. Los Angeles is trying to build winning habits to be ready for the postseason grind.

LeBron James is epitomizing this for the Lakers. He is taking a step back offensively and buying into doing all the little things. He knows the purple and gold need defense, so the 41-year-old superstar is focusing more on that end of the floor. If arguably the greatest player of all time can do it, that makes it easier for everyone else.

The Los Angeles Lakers got a massive win on Saturday night, and fans should be even more hyped by Austin Reaves' postgame comments. The team is focused on winning and getting the job done down the stretch. That is working, and the best is still yet to come. Fans won’t want to miss it, so stay tuned.