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Reaves scores 43 without Doncic as Lakers hold off Pistons for fifth straight win
With Luka Doncic resting his back, Austin Reaves scored a season-high 43 as the Lakers beat Detroit 121-116 and moved to 9-2 before heading to Atlanta.
Austin Reaves showed again that the Lakers can win without their best player. With Luka Doncic held out because of lower back tightness, Reaves scored a season-high 43 points and Los Angeles beat the Detroit Pistons 121-116 on Sunday. The win extended the Lakers' streak to five games and lifted them to 9-2.
Reaves made 14 of 27 shots, including 4 of 6 from 3-point range, and went 11-for-11 at the line, ESPN reported. Some of his makes were hard to explain, like a third-quarter 3 that went in off the glass. Afterward he didn't take credit for them: "I was a lucky player tonight," Reaves told ESPN. Doncic leads the league at 40.1 points per game, and Detroit came in with the NBA's top-ranked defense, so the absence mattered. This was the second game Doncic has missed, both with back tightness and both on one end of a back-to-back. The Lakers have won both.
The Lakers took control early. They led 38-14 after the first quarter, and Quentin Grimes scored 10 of his 12 points in that period. Collin Sexton and Ziaire Williams each added 17 off the bench. Walker Kessler had 12 points, 16 rebounds and three blocks, and USA TODAY Sports noted the double-double. According to SB Nation, seven of Kessler's rebounds came on the offensive glass, and the Lakers won the paint 58-46. Detroit never led, but it got close. While Reaves sat late in the third and early in the fourth, the Pistons cut the lead to 90-89. Daniss Jenkins finished with a career-high 31 points and eight 3-pointers, and Kevin Huerter added 24.
The win also carried some offseason history. SB Nation wrote that Detroit had been ready to offer Reaves a max contract before the Lakers signed him ahead of free agency. On Sunday, the Pistons saw up close what they had missed.
What it means for Monday in Atlanta
The Lakers play the second game of the back-to-back Monday night against the Hawks. It's the next stop on a four-game road trip. JJ Redick played down any worry that Doncic's back is a lasting problem, and ESPN reported that the starting backcourt will likely be back together. That would give Atlanta a different team to prepare for than the one Detroit saw.
The Lakers are 4-1 on the road this season. Their only road loss came at Golden State. During the five-game streak they have averaged about 126 points and allowed about 116. Their one blowout loss of the year was 112-95 at the Warriors.
On this site's board, the Lakers are slight favorites across 12 venues. Novig, one of those venues, has Los Angeles at -113 on the moneyline and Atlanta at +108. The best price on the Hawks is +117 at DraftKings. The spread is Lakers -1.5 at Novig, while DraftKings offers Atlanta at +2.5 for -105. The total sits at 236.5 on Novig and 235.5 at DraftKings, below the roughly 242 combined points in the Lakers' last five games. Sportsbook hold on the moneyline runs from 2.8% to 5.8%, so the gap between the cheapest and most expensive venues is several points of margin.