Austin Reaves scores career-high 38 as Lakers edge D’Angelo Russell and Nets

The time had come, the Lakers decided, to make a choice.

Since trade for D’Angelo Russell and play with him Austin Reavesthe two guards pretty much alternated in the limelight around LeBron James and Anthony Davis. The touches, the shots, the responsibilities – they were usually always shared.

But gradually over the course of this season, that changed. Russell moved to the bench and Reaves became the primary ball handler. And one deal with Brooklyn in December cemented it – the Lakers had cemented it.

Reaves was becomes their guy.

Read more: LeBron James waved to the young fan sitting courtside at the Lakers game. Then she cried tears of joy

“He’s in his process and he takes the opportunity and he runs with it,” James said. “Literally running with it. And I love every moment he’s had the opportunity to go out and show his talent with the best players in the world and he shows every night that he belongs. It’s a beautiful thing to see.

Friday’s game was hardly pretty, but it was necessary.

In Russell’s first game back in Los Angeles since being dealt to the Nets, Reaves had a career-high 38 points to help pull the Lakers over the finish line to a 102-101 win.

Russell had a chance to win the game — after a series of Reaves misses in the final two minutes — but his final three-point attempt fell short.

And while Reaves and James got hot in the fourth quarter, the game wasn’t as easy as it could have been — and they knew it early.

James backed up past midcourt and away from the Lakers’ bench after he made a three-pointer to end the first quarter. He felt that something wasn’t quite right in the building, that the rhythm was off and that the energy was flat.

So he put his hands in the air and asked for cheers. The crowd, having just watched 12 minutes of basketball at its mildest, eventually obliged.

Nothing came easy for the Lakers (22-17) against a team fresh off a 59-point loss to the Clippers. And the crowd eventually got into it, but only when it became clear that the Lakers might actually lose.

Lakers coach JJ Redick was upset with the effort, especially on the defensive end.

“We weren’t very good tonight,” he said.

However, James and Reaves scored 25 of the Lakers’ 30 points in the fourth quarter.

“JJ was not happy on the sidelines. I’m sure you all could guess because we didn’t play well, so it was justified,” Reaves said. “So me and Bron had a conversation at center court. “Just figure out a way to win the game.” We know it hasn’t been pretty. We know we made a lot of mistakes, but a win in the win column doesn’t matter if it’s (by) one or 60. It’s a win. And that’s all that matters.”

Read more: JJ Redick challenges the Lakers’ leadership and they respond by defeating the Heat

The Lakers were again without Dorian Finney-Smithwho remained away from the team due to the birth of her child. The team also learned shortly before game time that Davis would not play because of issues related to an ongoing foot problem that has kept him on the injury report for most of the past month. The Lakers listed him as “probable” with plantar fasciitis, and Davis went through his pregame workout before being demoted to out.

That should have been no excuse.

Brooklyn was without its leading scorers, Cam Thomas and Cameron Johnsonwith Johnson expected to be one of the most sought-after players before the Feb. 6 trade deadline.

The Lakers have actually spoken with the Nets (14-28) about Johnson, according to people with knowledge of the situation who were not authorized to speak publicly. But the price for the 6-foot-8 forward, who is averaging 19.6 points and shooting 42.8% from three, is believed to be two first-round picks — a steep price that could drop as the deadline nears.

The Lakers don’t need to make a trade until their next game to get help. They should have Finney-Smith and Davis back Sunday when they play the Clippers for the first time in the Intuit Dome, where the city rivalry moves to a new venue.

Sign up for our weekly newsletter on all things Lakers.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.