Lakers Final Score: Austin Reaves' Career Night (Barely) Carries LA Past Magic, 111-105
Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Austin Reaves was pretty much the only good thing about LA's miserable 33-49 season in 2021-22. After going undrafted out of the University of Oklahoma that summer, he latched on with LA on a two-way deal. By training camp, he had already been upgraded to the team's standard 15-man roster, albeit on a non-guaranteed minimum contract.
He played well, packing plenty of promise as an intriguing reserve on both ends of the floor, but fans weren't quite sure if he just looked good because he was a young guy playing alongside a bunch of washed-up veterans who were no longer NBA-caliber, or if he actually was an NBA-caliber player himself.
It turns out it was the latter.
Reaves just enjoyed the best scoring game of his career thus last night, in helping lead LA off the bench to an absolute must-win game against a lottery-bound Orlando Magic team that absolutely was not giving an inch.
The 6'5" Reaves scored 35 points while shooting 9-of-14 from the floor and a whopping 16-of-18 from the charity stripe. He also chipped in six rebounds and six dimes. His play drew praise from his most decorated teammate.
From the game's first quarter, Reaves was clearly in the zone last night, hustling for second-chance points even after his own misses and generating additional opportunities for teammates.
He went just 1-of-4 from deep, but for the year has proven to be a solid three-point shooter (38% on 3.3 tries a night). He made a critical early triple Sunday to keep LA atop Orlando in the second quarter.
Reaves was all over the floor in the first half, breaking down Magic plays and making unselfish passes:
His teammates could also sense he was on a heater. You can see Jarred Vanderbilt anticipating a lob dish here:
His two-man game with fellow reserve guard Dennis Schroder was remarkable. Both players made sure to find each other with nifty Nash-ian dishes.
Anthony Davis, who's had a bumpy go of it lately with low-scoring contests and late-game gaffes, had a solid night, flashing some of his signature ferocity within the paint during the game's third quarter:
Reaves thrived in drawing contact and getting foul calls:
D'Angelo Russell had ice in his veins late with a critical triple to help increase the Lakers' slim lead over the Magic in the fourth quarter:
All told, this was a great team win, piloted by a reserve. This is exactly the kind of critical game LA needed, and the team got there. LA improves to 35-37, and has just 10 games left in its season.
Can the Lakers keep this up? Time will tell. LA next faces off against the Phoenix Suns tomorrow night. Phoenix is significantly more vulnerable with All-Star power forward Kevin Durant sidelined. Los Angeles should try to capitalize.
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