Austin Reaves steps up in Luka Doncic's absence to lead Lakers over Pistons
DETROIT (AP) — Austin Reaves scored 43 points as the Los Angeles Lakers held off the Detroit Pistons 121-116 at Little Caesars Arena without Luka Doncic on Sunday.
Key points
- On the front side of a back-to-back, Doncic missed his second game of the season with low back tightness, although Lakers coach JJ Redick said he didn’t anticipate it to affect Doncic significantly throughout the season.
- The Lakers, who have benefited from two halftime buzzer-beating heaves from Doncic this season, know what it’s like to be on the other side of that momentum swing.
- Austin Reaves drives around John Collins of the Pistons in the first half.
Lakers survived a 121-116 win over the Pistons without star point guard Luka Doncic.
The Pistons, playing without All-NBA center Jalen Duren (hamstring), didn’t get their first points from star point guard Cade Cunningham until early in the third quarter.
Additional details
- The Lakers (9-2) led by 26 early in the second quarter, but nearly collapsed under an avalanche of second-half turnovers and 53 combined points from Detroit bench guards Daniss Jenkins and Kevin Huerter.
- Reaves had 13 points in the third quarter, including five straight on difficult fadeway jumpers that pushed the lead to 17 with 6:41 to go in the third, and watched the near collapse from the sideline.
- His estimated on/off of 37.7 — the difference between the Lakers’ net rating when he was on the court compared to off — was the second-highest in the league, following only Victor Wembanyama’s 41.5.
- Then, after hitting a clutch three-pointer with 46 seconds remaining against the Detroit Pistons on Sunday, he turned his palm to fans sitting courtside at Little Caesers Arena and waved goodbye.
- Last season, on L.A.’s lone trip to Detroit, the guard who went undrafted in 2024 scored a then-career-high 30 points against the Lakers to end their season-long nine-game winning streak.
How this summary was made: extractive summary — built from the sources' own reporting. It is drawn only from the reporting of the sources listed below — read the originals for full detail. How we summarize →
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