The Lakers’ 116–114 victory over the Suns at Mortgage Matchup Center should have been routine after building a cushion of around 20 points, but it turned chaotic in the closing seconds. Dillon Brooks buried a go-ahead three and was then hit with a technical foul for contact with LeBron James, handing Los Angeles a lifeline at the line.

James stepped up for the technical and missed, prompting questions about why Luka Doncic, who had been living at the stripe all night, was not the one shooting.

Postgame, head coach JJ Redick conceded that the assignment had been mishandled, saying he thought Doncic would take it and bluntly adding that the Slovenian star should have been the choice in that situation.

LeBron’s Perspective and Redemption

From James’s viewpoint, the decision was instinctive, rooted in a career spent embracing high-leverage moments. He walked to the line as the veteran leader, later explaining that he was comfortable with either himself or Doncic taking the shot and that he simply claimed the moment the way he has for two decades.

The miss did not end up defining the night because James immediately earned another trip to the line, drawing a foul on a three-point attempt with only a few seconds left and calmly knocking down two of three free throws to seal the win. In a game where Los Angeles nearly collapsed, those final makes allowed the locker room to frame the sequence as a lesson rather than a disaster.

What It Means for the Lakers Hierarchy

The episode spotlighted how delicate late-game roles can be on a team featuring two elite playmakers in James and Doncic.

Redick revealed that the Lakers had set guidelines earlier in the season for who should shoot technical free throws, balancing star status, percentages, and rhythm, but acknowledged that the plan broke down amid the chaos against Phoenix.

Doncic finished with 29 points and went to the line repeatedly, even as he struggled from the field, while James added 26 points in another heavy-usage outing at age 40. Redick’s willingness to publicly own the mistake suggests that the Lakers will sharpen those late-game roles, a necessary step for a team with serious ambitions and two primary engines sharing control of the offense.