Austin Reaves was the star of the show as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Sacramento Kings 127-120 at the Golden 1 Center on Sunday. Reaves put up his first-ever 50-point game in the NBA on the night, but he was a bit nervous as he got ready to shoot the free throws that would get him to the half-century mark.
Reaves had previously trolled Luka Doncic for missing a free throw that would have given him 50 points against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday. The 27-year-old hilariously admitted postgame that he was thinking about the consequences if he did the same against the Kings and spoke about the relationship with Doncic.
“I ain’t gonna lie, I went to the free throw line and I’m like s*** I better not miss,” Reaves said. “… The whole relationship is just talking trash back and forth. Towards the end of that conversation, he was like, ‘I need 60 tonight,’ and I was like, ‘Hahaha.'”
Well, Reaves wasn’t able to get 60, but it was still a memorable performance nonetheless. He put up 51 points (12-22 FG), 11 rebounds, nine assists, and two steals against the Kings.
With Doncic and LeBron James missing this game, Reaves was the first option on offense, so you knew he was going to have a big night. You wouldn’t have seen him getting to 51 points, though, especially when he scored just seven in the first quarter.
Reaves would then rack up 29 points in the next two quarters to get to 36 entering the fourth. The half-century was still some ways away, and you thought he might miss out when he was at 47 with less than 40 seconds remaining.
Reaves then drew a shooting foul and made both free throws to get to 49 with 32.1 seconds remaining. He was later intentionally fouled by Zach LaVine with 23 seconds left on the clock because the Kings were still somewhat within striking distance. Reaves made both free throws again to get to 51 and ensured Doncic wouldn’t get the opportunity to troll him back.
Instead of trolling, Doncic praised Reaves for his incredible display. Not many would have backed the Lakers to beat the Kings with their two superstars being out, but Reaves showed he is capable of putting the team on his back and dragging them to victory.
With that performance, Reaves became just the fourth undrafted player in NBA history to score 50 points in a game. The Lakers sure struck gold when they brought him in as an undrafted free agent back in 2021.
While the Lakers celebrated this win, the Kings were up in arms about the officiating. DeMar DeRozan took a shot at the referees as the Lakers shot 46 free throws compared to 16 for the Kings. Reaves had more attempts than the hosts by himself, as he went 21-22 from the charity stripe. He did get a bit of a friendly whistle, and he’d like that to continue to be the case moving forward.
The Lakers take on the Portland Trail Blazers next at Crypto.com Arena on Monday at 10:30 PM ET. Doncic, who is dealing with a left finger sprain and a left leg contusion, won’t be playing in that contest either, as he is out for at least a week. James won’t be in action, too, as he deals with sciatica, and so the Lakers would be counting on Reaves again to get them over the finish line.
