LOS ANGELES — It was almost like Deandre Ayton was foreshadowing on Friday morning what was to come that night at Crypto.com Arena.
Less than 12 hours before Luka Doncic scored 49 points, leading the Lakers to a 128-110 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves for the Lakers’ first win of the season, Ayton addressed the work that he, Doncic and Austin Reaves put in between Tuesday’s season-opening loss to the Golden State Warriors and Friday on the pick-and-roll chemistry between the guards and Ayton.
Specifically, Doncic and Reaves got a better understanding of how Ayton likes to operate – a process Ayton acknowledged his part in, saying he’s a “confusing big” man because of the variety of ways he’ll play as a roll man.
But in the backdrop of Doncic’s brilliant offensive performance, and Reaves’ continued progression as a star, was a significant step forward with Ayton’s chemistry with the Lakers star guard duo.
“DA was great,” Coach JJ Redick said of Ayton. “His patience for the game was really good. By that, Luka getting it going early – being the beneficiary of DA’s screening at times. Get into halftime, I thought DA was playing really well and I looked up and he’s got three shots and really just let the offense come to him throughout that second half.”
Ayton finished with 15 points and eight rebounds on 7-of-11 shooting against the Timberwolves.
Of his seven made field goals, four were assisted by Doncic, who, along with Reave,s helped create other open looks for Ayton that didn’t fall out of the pick and roll.
“Being poised is all I can do and really getting my guards open and rolling to the rim,” Ayton said. “I’m just glad they respecting the roll still though, seeing how much gravity me and Luka pull as well, and it’s pulling AR, so I mean, that’s Lakers basketball right now, running the pick and roll and getting the ball moving.”
One of the more notable plays was one that ended in a missed dunk.
With the Lakers leading 76-70 with 9:13 left in the third, Ayton set a pick for Doncic in the middle of the floor near the Lakers’ logo at the center of the court while Reaves cut to the left wing.
Doncic quickly swung the ball to Reaves after Minnesota sent two defenders his way, while Ayton’s defender (Rudy Gobert) went to pressure Reaves on the perimeter, briefly opening up a cutting lane for Ayton.
Ayton sprinted into the open space, with Reaves throwing a bounce pass to the 7-foot big man, whose dunk over Julius Randle rattled out of the rim before Rui Hachimura grabbed the offensive rebound and converted an and-1 putback.
The play may not have ended with Doncic, Reaves or Ayton scoring, but it showcased how far the trio has come in a short period of time.
“It’s been good just having dialogue with him and Luka, and honestly, everybody,” Reaves said. “Marcus [Smart] has been one of the biggest voices on our team as well. And just figuring out how you want to play alongside one another. That doesn’t just happen overnight. You have to go through ups and downs to really figure out what it’s like, where the pass wants to be with lobs, not lob, pocket pass, all that kind of stuff. It’s been good to communicate that and have reps on the floor.”
LAKERS AT KINGS
When: Sunday, 6 p.m.
Where: Golden 1 Center, Sacramento
TV/Radio: Spectrum SportsNet/710 AM