The Los Angeles Lakers improved to 2-1 on Sunday with a 127-120 victory over the Sacramento Kings. With LeBron James (sciatica) and Luka Doncic (finger) sidelined, the stage was set for Austin Reaves to deliver.
Reaves would respond by scoring a career-high 51 points, becoming only the fifth Laker to score 50 or more points in the 21st century. That list would have included Doncic if the Slovenian didn’t top out at 49 against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Oct. 24.
The game in question saw Doncic miss a free throw with 3:05 left, when the Lakers already had a comfortable 23-point lead over the Timberwolves.
James jokingly called out Doncic for not doing his part, as the Lakers could have completed the week with their two backcourt stars each scoring 50.
“Damn that’s crazy we almost had back to back 50 balls,” James wrote on X.
“Damnit Don! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣! Sick back court! 🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾.”
Through another post, James praised Reaves for his career night.
Luka Doncic Had Four Chances
After the game against the Timberwolves on Oct. 24, Lakers head coach JJ Redick revealed he put Doncic back in the game with 3:05 left only to give his star guard an opportunity to reach 50. However, Doncic unexpectedly missed a foul shot.
“You know, I’m trying to get the guy 50,” Redick said of Doncic, via Spectrum SportsNet. “And I had already given him three chances. And I gave him a fourth chance. He gets fouled. And then he blows that, too. But no, he was awesome.”
Redick further revealed a conversation he had with Doncic during a timeout, when the Slovenian urged his coach to keep him in the ball game.
“You got four [chances] now. Because in the timeout, we were talking and I said, ‘I’ve given you three chances. You passed up a layup.’”
Austin Reaves Goes 21-of-22
Unlike Doncic, Reaves was nearly perfect from the free-throw line, making 21 of his 22 foul shots against the Kings.
Reaves, who shot 54.5% from the floor, maintained a true shooting percentage of over 80% for his efficiency from the foul line and three-point range (60%). In the process, he became the first player in NBA history to record over 50 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists at such an efficient clip, according to NBA statistician Automatic.
Furthermore, Reaves became just the third undrafted player to score 50 points in an NBA game, joining Fred VanVleet (2021) and Phil Chenier (1972) in rare company.
Reaves was at a loss for words after his magical night.
“On a night you don’t have Luka, you don’t have Bron, you don’t have Jaxson [Hayes], you know you’ve got to go out there and be big for the team,” said Reaves, via NBA.com. “It wasn’t in my head thinking you’ve got to score 50; it was, ‘Do whatever you can do to help the team win,’ and we played — not just myself but everybody — we played a hell of a game.”
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