Lakers News: Austin Reaves Explains "I'm Him" Game 1 Celebration In Memphis
Los Angeles Lakers starting shooting guard Austin Reaves had himself a heck of a fourth quarter during his team's 128-112 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies during their playoff series opener.
Reaves went on an absolute heater in the game's final frame, scoring 14 points on a perfect 5-of-5 shooting from the floor (2-of-2 from deep) and 2-of-2 from the charity stripe, while passing for two critical dimes. While in the midst of that run (at one point he scored nine straight points for LA), a mic'd up Reaves yelled "I'M HIM!!" to the gathered Memphis faithful:
In 30:37 total, the 6'5" swingman out of the University of Oklahoma scored a total of 23 points while shooting 8-of-13 from the floor (3-of-5 from deep) and 4-of-4 from the foul line. He also chipped in four assists, three rebounds, a steal and a block.
After the win, Reaves spoke about his big night -- and why he decided to celebrate the moment so epically.
"It was really just playing basketball," Reaves said of how he got cooking in the fourth quarter. "Obviously when you've got guys like LeBron and AD, [it] makes life a little easier. But the game's not the same, it's more physical and stuff like that, but little stuff in basketball stays the same regardless [of whether] it's the regular season [or[ playoffs. We closed the game great."
When asked about the demonstrative "I'M HIM!" declaration, Reaves explained his thinking:
"It's a lot of emotions. You dream about being on a stage like this," Reaves noted. "These are the best basketball players in the world, it's the playoffs and you know, I got hot late and had fun."
Reaves, a restricted free agent this summer like that game's other high-scoring LA role player Rui Hachimura, seems to be in line to get a huge raise from his current $1,563,518 minimum salary this summer.
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