Austin Reaves scored a season-high 43 points as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Detroit Pistons 121-116 on Sunday, extending their winning streak to five games. Reaves also had a third-quarter 3-pointer that bounced off the glass and in, and he said it was the kind of shot Luka Doncic would take.
“Honestly, when I stepped back and shot it, I was like, ‘This is some bulls— Luka would shoot,'” Reaves said.
Doncic missed the game with tightness in his lower back. Reaves made the most of the extra opportunity, shooting 14-of-27 from the field, including 4-of-6 from 3-point range, and 11-of-11 from the foul line.
“I didn’t try to bank it in,” Reaves said, explaining why he shrugged in disbelief afterwards. “It went in, so it looks the same in the stat sheet.”
Lakers balance tested without Doncic
The Lakers (9-2) played without Doncic, the NBA’s No. 1 scorer at 40.1 points per game, and still looked composed against a Pistons team ranked No. 1 in defence. It was the second game Doncic has missed this season, both times because of back tightness, and the first in a back-to-back scenario. The Lakers are now 2-0 without him.
“Guys have to step up when someone’s averaging 40,” said Collin Sexton, who scored 17 points off the bench. “You got to fill the shoes and be ready to impact winning. And I felt like we did that tonight, and AR picked those shoes up and he wore them.”
Lakers coach JJ Redick praised Reaves’ approach. “I thought AR’s decision-making, his aggression, his ability to just consistently touch the paint and get downhill was fantastic tonight,” Redick said.
Five Lakers scored in double figures. Along with Reaves and Sexton, Ziaire Williams added 17 points off the bench, Walker Kessler produced 12 points, 16 rebounds and 3 blocks, and Quentin Grimes scored 10 of his 12 points in the first quarter, when L.A. built a 38-14 lead.
Pistons chip away
Detroit (6-3) fought back, outscoring L.A. by eight from the 2:30 mark of the third quarter to the 9:14 mark of the fourth. Reaves was resting on the bench when the Pistons drew within one, at 90-89.
Redick explained why he did not bring Reaves, who had already played 28 of 33 minutes when he exited, back on the floor sooner. “You got to allow the players to play through it,” Redick said. “And the same thing with the star players, you got to allow them to get their rest. And if you start just overreacting in-game and saying, ‘I got to get this guy back in, I got to get this guy back in,’ it’s just chaos. And we’re trying to create consistency for our players.”
Redick played down any concern about Doncic’s back being a lingering problem, so the Lakers’ starting backcourt is likely to be back together when L.A. continues its four-game road trip in Atlanta on Monday.
“I mean, Luka game, Austin game: Lakers win,” Kessler said. “I don’t know if it really feels different. They’re both incredible players to play alongside, and they hit some really, really tough shots.”
Reaves was modest about his performance, particularly his banked-in 3 in the third quarter and a first-quarter shot he made from over the corner of the backboard while falling out of bounds along the baseline. “I was a lucky player tonight,” he said.