Lakers' LeBron James, Luka Doncic say clutch roles go 'both ways' - ESPN

LOS ANGELES — It took only three games with LeBron James and Luka Doncic as teammates before the Los Angeles Lakers had to answer the question: Who gets the last shot?

Wednesday, it was James. The 22-year veteran missed two potential game-tying 3-pointers in the waning seconds of L.A.'s 100-97 loss to the Charlotte Hornets.

Doncic, who threw the inbounds pass to James with 6.3 seconds left, setting up the first shot, said their roles are interchangeable.

«He had it going, so obviously we're going to go to him,» Doncic said. «I think it will go both ways. One time it's going to be him, one time me. So, I think it depends how the game is going.»

Before his final two misses — the last falling short at the buzzer after Gabe Vincent grabbed the offensive rebound following James' first missed 3 and fed him again — James had scored 16 points in the fourth quarter on 6-for-8 shooting, including 2-for-3 from 3. Doncic, meanwhile, had scored five points in the fourth on 2-for-5 shooting.

«As a coach, you're excited that you have two guys that can be the passer and be the guy who gets the pass,» Lakers coach JJ Redick said of the late-game dynamic between James and Doncic. «But it felt like LeBron, particularly in the fourth, just found a nice rhythm and I felt really comfortable with that. And we got two good looks.»

James said that he «felt pretty good» with the play call to get him the ball for a 3 above the break. He had just made one with 6.8 seconds remaining to cut the Hornets' lead from four to one at 98-97.

«We run the set that JJ draws up,» James said of being the guy to take the last shot Wednesday. «You execute it. And we executed it. We just didn't make it.»

James finished with his typical production — 26 points on