DETROIT – Austin Reaves scored a season-high 43 points, and the Los Angeles Lakers held off the Detroit Pistons 121-116 Sunday at Little Caesars Arena without Luka Dončić.
Reaves shot 14-of-27 from the field, made four of his six 3-point attempts and went 11-of-11 at the free-throw line. He added five rebounds and four assists as the Lakers improved to 9-2 with their fifth consecutive victory.
Dončić missed the front end of the Lakers’ back-to-back because of lower-back tightness, one game after scoring 53 in an NBA Cup win over the Portland Trail Blazers. Reaves took over the offense and delivered when Detroit nearly erased a 26-point deficit.
Reaves answers Detroit’s comeback
The Lakers overwhelmed Detroit in the opening quarter, shooting 16-of-23 from the field and building a 38-14 lead. The advantage reached 40-14 early in the second before the Pistons finally settled into the game.
Daniss Jenkins scored 22 first-half points off the bench, including a 3-pointer at the buzzer that cut the Lakers’ lead to 61-48 at halftime. Detroit carried that momentum into the third quarter and closed the period on a 13-2 run, trimming the deficit to 88-81.
The Pistons pulled within one three times in the fourth. Reaves kept the Lakers in front, and Walker Kessler’s putback three-point play with 2:15 remaining pushed the lead to 107-99.
Detroit made one last run, but Reaves hit an off-balance 3-pointer with 46 seconds left and then closed the game at the free-throw line.
Lakers find enough without Dončić
Kessler finished with 12 points, 16 rebounds, four assists and three blocks. Seven of his rebounds came on the offensive end.
Collin Sexton and Ziaire Williams scored 17 points apiece off the bench. Williams made four 3-pointers, while Sexton went 7-of-8 at the free-throw line. Jarred Vanderbilt grabbed 10 rebounds in just under 14 minutes.
The Lakers shot 50 percent from the field and made 11 of 28 attempts from behind the arc. They also went 26-of-33 at the free-throw line and finished with 55 rebounds.
Detroit stayed alive with 19 made 3-pointers and 18 offensive rebounds. Jenkins finished with a career-high 31 points, while Kevin Huerter added 24 off the bench. Cade Cunningham had 14 points and eight assists.
Los Angeles continues its road trip Monday against the Atlanta Hawks on the second night of a back-to-back. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. PT.
[…] The Lakers won their sixth consecutive game and improved to 10-2. They did it on the second night of a back-to-back and without Austin Reaves, who was out because of an illness one day after scoring 43 points in a win over the Detroit Pistons. […]