Zach LaVine Gives Props to Austin Reaves' 51-Point Game in Kings-Lakers

The Sacramento Kings hosted the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday night for a big cross-state matchup. Despite the Kings ultimately getting the upper hand with Luka Doncic and LeBron James sidelined with injuries, the Lakers were still able to pull out a 127-120 win.

Of course, with Doncic and James out, the Lakers needed someone to step up, and Austin Reaves did just that. In 39 minutes of action, Reaves finished with 51 points, 11 rebounds, nine assists, and two steals on 12-22 shooting from the field, 6-10 from deep, and 21-22 from the charity stripe.

AUSTIN REAVES WITH A CAREER-HIGH 51 PTS 🤯

COOKED THE KINGS WITH NO LUKA OR LEBRON 😤 pic.twitter.com/bao7qE1gz2
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 27, 2025

Reaves' performance on Sunday night was by far the best of his career, and many fans were in awe of what he was able to do against the Kings. Sure, many were upset that he shot more free throws (22) than the entire Kings team (18), but nonetheless, he had an impressive game.

Zach LaVine gives Reaves his flowers

Kings star Zach LaVine has a close off-court relationship with Reaves, so seeing him go off like this was a cool moment, even though he handed Sacramento a loss. After the game, LaVine gave Reaves his flowers for such a great performance.

"You give it to them. They had a great performance from my guy Austin. He knows how to get fouled. He always has," LaVine said about Reaves' 22 free-throw attempts. "Austin's really good, and he always has been. He usually beats the hell out of me in golf; he's a hell of a golfer.

"But I think this was his first 50-point game. You tip your hat off to guys like that, where you show them different coverages, they change up the way they play it. Especially with Luka out, when they put up a performance like that, you tip your hat to them."

Zach LaVine talks about the Kings loss to the Lakers tonight, the career performance from his good friend Austin Reaves, the free throw disparity between the two teams & making his return to Chicago to face his former Bulls team on this road trip. pic.twitter.com/PURGRILBrZ
— Sean Cunningham (@SeanCunningham) October 27, 2025

LaVine believes the Kings beat themselves on Sunday night, and did not want to place any blame on the huge free-throw disparity. The Kings simply could not stop Reaves, and LaVine did not hesitate to give him the credit he deserves.

LaVine had an impressive night for himself, dropping 32 points on 12-24 shooting from the field, and head coach Doug Christie continues to praise the star's defensive effort as well. LaVine has now scored 30+ points in every game so far this season, and if he can keep that up while improving his defense, he could be in for an All-Star campaign.

Now, the Kings are moving on to face the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday, where they will have to try to prevent Shai Gilgeous-Alexander from doing exactly what Reaves just did to them.

Zach LaVine gives Reaves his flowers

Recommended Articles