SACRAMENTO — Austin Reaves hit a three. He ripped the ball from Dario Saric’s hands. He scored on a breakaway layup. All in 20 seconds.
On a night without Luka Doncic, the Lakers needed Reaves to do it all Sunday, and the guard responded emphatically as he delivered a career-high 51 points with 11 rebounds and nine assists to carry the Lakers to a 127-120 win over the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center.
When the ball fell into Reaves’ hands for his final rebound as the game ended, Rui Hachimura wrapped Reaves in a bear hug and playfully punched his stomach. Jake LaRavia covered Reaves’ head with a towel.
In the locker room, they dumped water all over him. It was freezing. Reaves was happy.
“This is a small-town kid from Arkansas who went undrafted who last year averaged a 20-ball in the NBA and just had a 50-ball,” coach JJ Redick said. “These moments are incredible for him. I think his teammates see that. I know as a coaching staff we see that he just lives in the moment and he’s ready for every single moment that comes.”
Reaves surpassed his previous career high of 45 points, set against Indiana on Feb. 8. It was also the last time LeBron James and Doncic both missed a game for the Lakers.
Doncic will be out for at least a week with a left finger sprain and a left lower leg contusion. He sustained the injuries in Friday’s win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, although coach JJ Redick said Sunday he didn’t realize Doncic had suffered any leg injury until Saturday. Doncic was too busy dazzling with 49 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists despite the black tape on his left middle finger.
The 26-year-old star was off to a historic start with 92 points — the most by any Lakers player through the first two games of a season. He became the fourth player in NBA history to begin a season with consecutive 40-point games.
In Doncic’s shadow, Reaves was also starring. He averaged 25.5 points, 10 assists and six rebounds over the first two games.
Four years after going undrafted out of Oklahoma, Reaves has grown into a potential leading man in his own right, but the humble guard who feigned covering his ears when Redick was talking about him in the coach’s postgame news conference still humbly accepts a supporting role on the Lakers’ star-studded cast.
“You can see him even as an essentially third option, what he does night-in and night-out,” forward Jarred Vanderbilt said. “So I’m happy to see him get 50. Not a lot of people in this league can do that.”
Doncic fell just short of that mark Friday. Reaves teased the five-time All-Star about the missed free throw that left him one point short against Minnesota. Sidelined, Doncic encouraged Reaves to one up him; Reaves said Doncic texted him before the game to get 60 points. Vanderbilt told Reaves as the team boarded the bus before the game he needed to drop 50.
“I wasn’t in my head thinking, ‘You gotta go score 50,’” said Reaves, who was 12 for 22 from the field with six three-pointers and 21 free throws on 22 attempts. “It was, ‘Do whatever you can do to help the team win.’”
Austin Reaves celebrates after a Lakers basket during a 127-120 win over the Kings on Sunday.
(Ezra Shaw / Getty Images)
Beginning a stretch of four games in six days, Reaves’ role may grow even larger after guard Gabe Vincent injured his left ankle. The 29-year-old immediately hobbled to the locker room after he went down with 8:19 remaining in the third quarter and did not return.
Vincent had a protective boot on his left ankle after the game and left the arena on crutches. Redick did not have an immediate update on the guard.
Reaves scored or assisted on 20 of the Lakers’ last 24 points of the first half as they fought off three second-quarter three-pointers from former Lakers guard Russell Westbrook to salvage a tie at halftime.
With the Kings (1-2) trying to blitz Reaves to get the ball out of his hands, his teammates stepped up late. Marcus Smart started in Doncic’s place and had 11 points with five assists. Hachimura chipped in 18 points.
Deandre Ayton finished with 22 points and 15 rebounds and had an emphatic two-handed put-back dunk that gave the Lakers (2-1) an eight-point lead with 4:48 to go. Flexing both arms at half court and swinging his fists, Reaves said he got light-headed from his own celebration on the play.
