In a chaotic finish against the Denver Nuggets, Austin Reaves had a viral moment when he told the basketball, “I love you.” But while the line quickly spread across social media, his longtime girlfriend, Jenna Barber, added another layer to the unforgettable scene.

With 5.2 seconds left and the Los Angeles Lakers trailing by two, Reaves delivered one of the smartest plays of the night. Instead of forcing a rushed shot, he intentionally hit the rim to create his own rebound. The guard recovered the ball uncontested and finished the play to tie the game at 118, keeping the Lakers alive in the final seconds.

After Jamal Murray’s last-second heave from near half court missed, regulation ended in dramatic fashion. Cameras caught Reaves holding the ball and quietly saying, “I love you,” a spontaneous moment that quickly went viral among fans. His long-time girlfriend, Jenna Barber, was not at the game, but at home. However, she was quick to upload a story while watching the game on TV, and her caption also used the special three words. “I love you.”

While emotional reactions aren’t unusual during intense games, Reaves admitted after the game that speaking kindly to the basketball isn’t exactly his usual habit.

“No, I don’t really say much to the ball,” Reaves told reporters with a smile. “It’s usually bad words. It’s usually when it’s not acting right.”

Both are originally from Newark, Arkansas, and the two have been dating, reportedly since 2014, while at Cedar Ridge High School. Barber often attends Lakers games and even plays golf with her partner. Despite not being present at Crypto.com Arena, it was an important effort from Austin Reaves that deserved to be celebrated.

JJ Redick had a different plan in mind for Austin Reaves

If the Lakers hadn’t used the strategy of intentionally missing the free throw and fouling the Nuggets, they would have needed a three-point attempt with a second or two left on the clock. Legends like Shaquille O’Neal opined that he was not a fan of this outcome. But JJ Redick came up with a solution rather than waiting for it to play out the traditional way.

“Actually, JJ told me to tell AR to miss right,” said Luka Doncic to the press. “So we miss left. So it was a good play. No, but actually that’s very hard to do and you know just for him to tie the game that gave us a win basically.” There was a reason why Austin Reaves did the opposite of what the head coach had stated.

AR was always in on the plan of missing the second free throw shot.” I mean, I knew I was going to miss. I wasn’t going to give the ball an opportunity to go in.” When AR was on the charity strip, only Nikola Jokic from the Nuggets was to his left; the other two stars were boxed to his right. The Joker was also not alone; Lakers center Deandre Ayton guarded him, and that’s where Reaves found his opening.

Despite JJ Redick’s plan to hit the ball to the right for a rebound, Austin did it to the left. “I thought if I threw it free fast enough, that Jokic wouldn’t have the time to get his hands up to grab the ball,” said Reaves. “So, this was the thought process, and it worked.”

Austin literally hit the rim perfectly in that situation, was lucky to grab his own rebound, and his 2 points tied the game. In the end ball also bounced to him, and his emotions came out, capping off the perfect display on Saturday night.