Austin Reaves scores 43 as Lakers win at Detroit without Luka Doncic

With Luka Doncic sitting out with lower-back tightness, Austin Reaves scored a season-high 43 points and the Lakers held on for a 121-116 win over the Detroit Pistons on Sunday at Little Caesars Arena. It was Los Angeles' fifth straight win, and the Lakers are now 9-2. They are also 2-0 in games Doncic has missed. Both of his absences have come on one night of a back-to-back, and both were for back tightness, ESPN reported.

Reaves made 14 of 27 shots, including 4 of 6 from three, and went 11-for-11 at the line. It was his first 40-point game of the season, NY Post Sports noted, and it came against the Pistons' top-ranked defense. Los Angeles turned eight early Detroit turnovers into a 38-14 lead, and Quentin Grimes, starting in Doncic's place, scored 10 of his 12 points in the first quarter.

The Lakers could not hold that margin. Daniss Jenkins hit six of seven threes in the first half and finished with 28 points, according to Silver Screen and Roll on SB Nation, and the 26-point lead was down to 12 at halftime. Reaves answered with 13 points in the third quarter. When he went to the bench late in the period, Detroit pulled within one early in the fourth. Collin Sexton and Ziaire Williams added 17 points each off the bench, and Walker Kessler had 12 points, 16 rebounds and three blocks. Reaves hit a three in the final minute and closed it out at the free-throw line. Afterward he played down his own night: "I was a lucky player tonight," he told ESPN.

The result says something about the roster beyond Doncic, the league's leading scorer at 40.1 points per game. In this game the minutes without him held up, and five Lakers scored in double figures.

What it means for Atlanta

The Lakers finish the back-to-back Monday at the Atlanta Hawks, the second stop on a four-game road trip. Coach JJ Redick played down concern about Doncic's back, ESPN reported, and the outlet expects the starting backcourt to be back together. Los Angeles is 4-1 on the road. Its only losses came at Golden State and at home to Portland. Over 11 games the Lakers have scored 121.9 points per game and allowed 114.5.

On this site's board, which tracks 12 venues, the Lakers are slight road favorites. Novig has them at -115 on the moneyline and at -106 to cover 1.5 points. Atlanta is +111 on Novig, and the best price anywhere is +119 at DraftKings. The sportsbooks carry a moneyline hold of 2.9% to 5.1%.

The total is 236.5 on Novig, with the over at -104 and the under at -100. Other venues are a point to either side: DraftKings has the over at 235.5 for -110, and BetRivers has the under at 237.5 for -117. The Lakers' games so far have averaged 236.4 combined points, right in line with that number. Whether Doncic plays the second night of the back-to-back is the main open question before tip-off.