Dave McMenaminNov 6, 2025, 03:24 AM ET

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• Lakers and NBA reporter for ESPN.
• Covered the Lakers and NBA for ESPNLosAngeles.com from 2009-14, the Cavaliers from 2014-18 for ESPN.com and the NBA for NBA.com from 2005-09.

LOS ANGELES – The Lakers had a two-point lead over the Spurs with 1.2 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter Wednesday and possession of the ball when Marcus Smart committed an error that nearly cost Los Angeles the game.

Smart stepped on the endline when attempting to make an inbounds pass to Rui Hachimura, resulting in a turnover and rewarding the ball to the Spurs.

Julian Champagnie was fouled as he cut toward the basket by Lakers forward Jake LaRavia with 0.2 seconds left. Champagnie missed the first free throw and intentionally missed the second, hoping to create a tip-in opportunity at the buzzer, but Los Angeles held on to win 118-116.

Afterward, Smart owned up to the miscue.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Smart said. “I mean, I think when I released the ball, they said I stepped over [the line]. I’m like, we see the play all the time when a guy gets the ball out quick and his leg is [hovering past the line] and he still inbounds it and he throws the ball in and there is no call.”

Smart, who finished with 17 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists, going 10-for-10 on free throws, figured if he had made the pass to Hachimura cleanly, the clock would have expired without the Spurs being able to foul him in time.

“To have that call at the end of the game, 1.2 [seconds], we got a guy wide open, all he’s got to do is catch it and the ballgame is over,” Smart said. “It’s kind of crazy, but as a 12-year vet, I can’t make that mistake.

“I take full ownership of it. My teammates understand. They are going to joke with me. They are going to let me hear about it. But it will never happen again.”

The win was the Lakers’ fifth in a row, lifting them to the No. 2 spot in the Western Conference standings at 7-2.

Luka Doncic, who led the Lakers with 35 points, 13 assists, 9 rebounds and 5 steals while Austin Reaves (sore right groin) and LeBron James (right sciatica) were sidelined, already sounded like he forgave Smart’s mistake during his postgame comments.

“The energy on the defensive end, he does some things that I’ve never seen in my life, like how he dives for the ball,” Doncic said. “His leadership and his communication on defense, it’s been everything for us. I mean, he brings the energy that I didn’t know [he had]. So him being on my team, I mean our team, it’s unbelievable.”