The 53rd game between LeBron James and Stephen Curry was the latest chapter in their legendary rivalry. James’ Los Angeles Lakers defeated Curry’s Golden State Warriors 115-113 on Wednesday in a classic Christmas game.

Without leading scorer Anthony Davis and amid a 3-pointer from Curry, the Lakers leaned on Austin Reaves, whose game-winning layup with 1.0 seconds left capped his first triple-double of the season (26 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists ). and the third of his career. After leaving the game midway through the first quarter with a left ankle sprain, Davis stepped up in a big way.

The Lakers had already entered the game shorthanded, as leading bench scorer D’Angelo Russell was sidelined 90 minutes into the game with a sprained left thumb suffered in the previous game against the Detroit Pistons. They were also missing half of their frontcourt: backup wing Jarred Vanderbilt and backup centers Jaxson Hayes and Christian Wood are out for the foreseeable future. Then they lost Davis, their best player and defensive lynchpin.

Lakers/Warriors continue #NBAXmas was an EPIC fight 🎄

Extreme intensity.
Wild Steph tripled.
An Austin Reeves game winner.

The Lakers get the hard-fought W 🎁 pic.twitter.com/ywX1JdsxWa

– NBA (@NBA) December 26, 2024

As he moved back for a defensive rebound, Davis’ left ankle gave out as he fell to the ground in immediate pain. He tried to play through the injury but was eventually subbed off and cautiously walked back to the locker room at 4:48 of the first quarter. According to ESPN, Davis said he is doing well and will play against the Sacramento Kings on Saturday.

Davis finished the game with 0 points on 0-for-3 shooting, two rebounds and one steal in seven minutes. He has been suffering from left plantar fasciitis since the second week of the season, which limits his mobility. This was the fourth time Davis returned to the locker room due to injury during a game and the second time he was sidelined.

James led the Lakers with 31 points and 10 assists in a spirited performance. He made his way into the paint and played faceoff ball against the Warriors’ front line, which he likes to attack. He dissected Golden State’s post defense from the entire court, finding cutters and shooters for layups and three-pointers. He was active and engaged on defense, switching to Curry and Golden State’s perimeter weapons and covering much of the field from sideline to sideline.

Rui Hachimura had 18 points, hit five three-pointers and scored a decisive 1-0 late. He ended up playing a lot of center as the Lakers beat the Warriors in their own game. The Lakers controlled the ball, turned it over just nine times and largely kept pace with the Warriors behind the arc. They made 15 3-pointers while Golden State scored 18 points.

Even more notable, Max Christie added 16 points and hounded Curry as best he could, although Curry often finished with the better end of the match, scoring 38 points on 14-for-24 shooting. Dalton Knecht broke out of his month-long slump with 13 points, reaching double figures for the first time since Dec. 6 in Atlanta.

After the Warriors used a 13-4 run to tie the game at 113-113, the Lakers had Reaves isolate Andrew Wiggins on the left wing and beat him to the rim for a layup that sealed the win. Golden State failed to get a shot before time expired due to the timeout.

With the win, the Lakers improved to 17-13 after 30 games. This is the point in the season where Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka said he would evaluate the roster while speaking at media day. Los Angeles is currently tied for sixth place in the Western Conference.

Required reading

(Photo: Darren Yamashita / Imagn Images)