One of the bright spots of the Lakers’ 2018-19 season was when Alex Caruso dunked over all the Warriors and had LeBron James shook.
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For the game in question, the Lakers were playing without LeBron James and were out of the running for a playoff spot. So all they had to play for was pride. They lost the game in a blowout as none of the Warriors starters played even 30 minutes of the game.
During the 29 minutes that Kevin Durant saw the floor, he had some good moments as he put in an effortless 15 points, 8 assists and 6 rebounds. But he was also the subject of some of the most violent, rim-breaking moments of the entire 2018-19 season.
Bet you didn’t know Alex Caruso got BOUNCE pic.twitter.com/wLNq7bhWeU
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 5, 2019
LeBron James was in disbelief at Alex Caruso’s monster putback dunk
This play took place just before halftime as the Warriors led by a sizeable margin. With 50 seconds or so left on the game clock before the interval, Rondo took a 3-pointer which rimmed out. Fortunately for the Lakers, Caruso came in from the left side, skied and put the ball through the hoop with a ferocity hitherto unseen from him.
The Lakers bench went incandescent in reaction to Caruso’s dunk. LeBron James, in particular, had the look of a man who’d been bamboozled.
LeBron literally looked as though he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. While he may have seen Caruso sky during their practice sessions, the way he just went up to the rafters to corral the ball and then hammer it down really was something else.
ALEX CARUSO HAD LEBRON SHOOK 😱#LakeShow pic.twitter.com/SMCULdlfcp
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) April 5, 2019
LeBron James would later on lead Alex Caruso and the Lakers to the #1 seed in the West and the championship the following season.