NBA: Lakers coach Ham thrilled for unlikely hero Ryan

LOS ANGELES – Matt Ryan had always been an unlikely hero for the Los Angeles Lakers. After all, he was not even sure if he could make it as a basketball player, much less in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

The forward, 25, had attended three universities, went undrafted and then worked as a DoorDash and UberEats delivery driver for extra cash, while he also coached a grassroots basketball team. During the 2022 NBA play-offs, The Athletic revealed that he had also worked at a cemetery.

“I was fresh out of college,” Ryan said then. “I had nothing.”

He finally made his NBA debut for the Boston Celtics last season, but for only one game.

On Wednesday, he drained a buzzer-beating three-pointer for the Lakers to send their game into overtime as Los Angeles eventually pulled out a 120-117 home victory over the New Orleans Pelicans.

“I’m thrilled for him,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. “It worked. It was fabulously executed and Matt had the courage to line it up and knock it down.”

Ryan’s shot was all the more remarkable as he missed six of his first seven three-point attempts before delivering one of the biggest of his young career.

“The pass was clean and the defence was just far enough away where I could get it off clean,” he said. “As a shooter, once you can get your feet down and see the rim clean enough, that made it a lot easier.”

Lonnie Walker IV scored 28 points, LeBron James and Anthony Davis added 20 each as the Lakers won two consecutive games after a 0-5 start to the season.

Davis added 16 rebounds, while James had 10 boards and eight assists as the team sealed the victory despite blowing a 16-point, third-quarter lead.

With Los Angeles trailing 111-108 in regulation at the Crypto.com Arena, Walker had a chance to tie the game but his three-point attempt missed the mark with 2.8 seconds remaining.

New Orleans’ Dyson Daniels was unable to put the game away when he missed a pair of free throws with 1.6sec left. Ryan, who finished with a career-high 11 points, then made it 111-111.

Russell Westbrook had 13 points, nine assists and seven rebounds off the bench for the Lakers.

Zion Williamson scored 27 points for the Pelicans.

CJ McCollum had 22 points and eight assists for New Orleans, who finished 1-2 on their road trip, with the win coming in Los Angeles against the Clippers on Monday.

McCollum missed a three-point try that would have tied the game with 6.7sec left in the extra period.

“We did everything we needed to put ourselves in a position to win that game, and we let it slip away,” Pelicans coach Willie Green said.

“This is definitely a growth moment for some of our young guys. We didn’t deserve to win that game, so credit to the Lakers... We can’t wait until the second half to decide we want to play, and that’s what we did.”

Elsewhere, Giannis Antetokounmpo delivered another dominant performance with 32 points as the Milwaukee Bucks extended their unbeaten start to the season to 7-0 with a 116-91 rout of the Detroit Pistons.

Darius Garland returned from a five-game injury absence to produce a sparkling display as Cleveland notched their sixth straight win with a thrilling 114-113 overtime win over the Boston Celtics.

Garland poured in 29 points, with 12 assists and five rebounds, while Donovan Mitchell once again underscored his value to the Cavaliers with a 25-point performance, which included 11 points in the closing minutes of regulation and overtime. REUTERS, AFP