LOS ANGELES — In the NBA world, it feels like an eternity since Austin Reaves burst out of the gate to open the season. The conversations were about his All-NBA candidacy with an All-Star appearance seemingly a given.
However, a pair of calf injuries means that nearly two months had passed since Reaves had his last truly special game this season…until Thursday
Midway through the third quarter against the Sixers, it looked like the Lakers were on their way to another disappointing home loss. They trailed by double figures and with Luka Dončić ruled out for the rest of the game, where the production was going to come from was a mystery.
That’s when Reaves went to work.
With less than four minutes left in the quarter, Reaves overwhelmed the Sixers. He started by drilling a running pull-up 3-pointer, then he drove inside and converted on a layup, followed by an assist to Jake LaRavia.
In a span of 64 seconds, the game went from creeping toward a blowout loss to a tight contest.
Reaves saved his best for the last quarter. He drilled a 32-foot 3-pointer to beat the shot clock. Then he converted a tightly contested stepback three and, suddenly, Crypto.com Arena was his stage and everyone inside his audience.
Fans were in a raucous. Reaves was grinning from ear to ear, high-fiving teammates and celebrating while reminding Lakers fans why they fell in love with him in the first place.
“He was unbelievable tonight,” Lakers head coach JJ Redick said after the win. “I know he made threes tonight and hit a couple that were pretty incredible, but his drives and his thrust, [he] got to the free throw line…got in the paint and made plays and scored at the rim. It was really great to see.”
The result wasn’t secured until the closing seconds, but the Lakers held on and beat the Sixers 119-115. Considering the deficit, Luka’s absence and his limited availability, it was one of the best performances of the season by Reaves.
Philly treated Reaves like a superstar. They played as physically as the refs allowed. He was double-teamed all game long and was guarded full-court during crunch time.
It didn’t make much of a difference.
Reaves still ended the game scoring 35 points off the bench, the most by any Laker reserve this season. He went 12-17 from the field and made five 3-pointers, the same amount the Sixers converted as a team.
While the numbers were impressive, his willingness to do whatever it took to win stood out the most.
Reaves was applying pressure on the rim, leading to trips to the line and putting Sixers players in foul trouble. He continued to sacrifice his body in an attempt to draw charges and shift the momentum in LA’s favor. For many players, this would be a career night, but for Reaves, it was another day at the office.
“Winning’s the main thing,” Reaves said. “Regardless of stats, at the end of the day, did you win or lose is how I look at the game. There’s not many moral victories.
“You can go have a great game and lose and I’m not going to say nobody really cares because there’s people out there that just look at the stats. But people that actually know basketball and appreciate the right things in basketball, care about winning basketball. And that’s what I’ve kind of prided myself on playing my whole career is trying to play the right way and have fun on the court.”
There’s still plenty the Lakers have to fix. The Sixers dominated for long stretches. LA’s defense was as resistant as a turnstile. And the Lakers’ starting center, Deandre Ayton, watched the entire fourth quarter like the rest of us.
Still, Reaves was spectacular. While basketball players’ careers have peaks and valleys, Reaves has had a projection chart that all Fortune 500 companies would envy with steady growth each year and no sign of plateauing.
“Anybody in this league that’s surprised about AR and his ability,” Marcus Smart said, “it’s a shame,”
Thursday was a reminder of just how special those abilities are.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.
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