No Luka Dončić, no LeBron James — but that was no problem for the Los Angeles Lakers as they pulled off a 127-120 win against the Sacramento Kings on the front end of a back-to-back.
It was Austin Reaves who stepped up for the Lakers, dropping a career-high 51 points while knocking down several big three-point shots in the fourth quarter to keep the Kings at bay.
Following the game, Lakers head coach JJ Redick explained what enabled Reaves to go off the way he did, as per Thuc Nhi Nguyen of The LA Times.
“He was fantastic. He did a little bit of everything for us tonight, all over the place, scored the basketball at an incredible level. But just his tenacity to compete,” Redick said. “It’s so apparent, every single day he’s in the gym. He just loves competition, he thrives on competition.
“We talked about it some a little bit towards the end of last season and then right after the regular season,” Redick continued. “This is a small-town kid from Arkansas, went undrafted, who last year averaged a 20-ball in the NBA and just had a 50-ball. These moments are incredible for him, I think his teammates see that, I know as a coaching staff we see that. He just lives in the moment and he’s ready for every single moment that comes. It’s a pleasure to be around him every day.”
As JJ Redick mentioned, it wasn’t just scoring 51 points that Austin Reaves contributed during the Lakers’ win against the Kings. He also posted a double-double with 11 rebounds, was one assist shy of a triple-double with nine assists, and came up with two steals in just over 39 minutes.
Reaves shot an efficient 12-of-22 (54.5 percent) from the field, 6-of-10 (60 percent) from beyond the arc, and 21-of-22 (95.5 percent) from the free-throw line.
The last time the Lakers were without both Dončić and James was last season on February 8 against the Indiana Pacers. James was sidelined due to injury, and Dončić had not yet been cleared to return from injury following the trade. The Lakers ended up winning that game behind another standout performance from Reaves, who scored a then career-high 45 points, along with seven rebounds and seven assists.
Coming into Sunday’s game against the Kings, Reaves was averaging 25.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 10.0 assists, and 1.0 steals per game, with shooting splits of 58.1 percent from the field, 30 percent from three-point range, and 80 percent from the free-throw line.
Up next for the Lakers is the second night of their back-to-back at home against the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday.
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