LeBron hails 'f---ing generational player' Doncic after game winner

Los Angeles Lakers icon LeBron James was effusive in his praise for teammate Luka Doncic after the guard nailed the game-winning bucket in Saturday's thrilling 127-125 overtime victory over the Denver Nuggets.

"Just a big-time shot by a f---ing generational player," James told reporters in a video shared by ESPN's Dave McMenamin. "We wanted the last shot. We wanted to put the ball in our guy's hands."

Doncic buried the dramatic fadeaway jumper over Nuggets forward Spencer Jones with seconds left in the overtime frame to secure the Lakers' fifth straight victory and eighth win in nine games.

"It's going to be just the first of many game winners like that for him in a Lakers uniform," James added.

Doncic wasn't the only Laker who contributed in the clutch after Austin Reaves intentionally missed a free throw with 5.2 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. Reaves collected the rebound and drained a nine-footer with 1.9 seconds left on the clock to tie the game at 118-118 and force an extra frame.

"I mean, I knew I was going to miss," Reaves told McMenamin. "I wasn't going to give the ball an opportunity to go in. Some people shoot it high, and they end up making it on accident. But I don't think my ball ever got over 10 feet."

Reaves finished with 32 points on 12-of-21 shooting to record 30 or more points for the third straight game. Doncic chipped in with 30 points, 11 rebounds, and 13 assists for his eighth triple-double of the season on the heels of his first 50-point game in a Lakers uniform.

"I felt like it was the best atmosphere since I'm a Laker … I had goosebumps," Doncic told reporters, according to McMenamin.

Los Angeles vaulted the Houston Rockets for third place in the West with the victory, 10 games back of the conference-leading Oklahoma City Thunder.