Austin Reaves put on the hero cape in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 127-120 victory against the Sacramento Kings, who did not have Luka Doncic due to injury.
Reaves scored 51 points (12 of 22 from the field, 6 triples and 21 of 22 from the foul line), 10 rebounds and 9 assists.
The Lakers point guard became the fourth player in the last 40 years with at least 50 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists in a game, joining Doncic, Russell Westbrook (twice) and James Harden (twice).
The last time a Lakers player had more than 50 points, more than 11 rebounds and more than nine assists was on February 13, 1963, when Elgin Baylor scored 50 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists against the Boston Celtics.
DeAndre Ayton had 22 points and 15 rebounds for the Lakers. Rui Hachimura scored 18 points.
For Sacramento, Zach LaVine scored 32 points to lead six players in double figures for the Kings.
DeMar DeRozan scored 21 points, Domantas Sabonis had ten and 14 rebounds, while Dennis Schroder added 18 points and 12 assists.
Lakers will have to fix themselves without Luka Doncic
Luka Doncic, who had just scored 49 points, will miss at least a week of the season due to a sprained one of his fingers.
After missing the game against the Kings, the Slovenian will also miss Monday’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers, Wednesday’s game against the Wolves, Friday’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies and Sunday’s game against the Miami Heat.
He is expected to be re-evaluated in about a week, according to the Lakers.
It’s another blow for Los Angeles, which doesn’t expect to have LeBron James (sciatica) back until mid-November.
This Monday they return home to welcome the Portland Trail Blazers, a team that is immersed in the betting scandal after the arrest of their coach Chauncey Billups.
Keep reading:
– Bad news for Lakers: Luka Doncic out due to injury
– The FBI investigation into NBA betting that revealed the new face of the mafia
– Luka Doncic shines and gives the Lakers their first victory against Minnesota