Austin Reaves returns for Lakers’ 125-109 rout of Nets after missing 19 games
Austin Reaves returned to the Los Angeles Lakers in Tuesday’s 125-109 rout of the Brooklyn Nets after missing the team’s past 19 games with a calf injury. Head coach JJ Redick announced his availability shortly before tip-off.
Reaves, sidelined with a Grade 2 left calf strain, hadn’t played for the Lakers since Christmas Day. The fifth-year guard came off the bench and Redick told reporters he would play under a minutes restriction. He finished with 15 points, 4 rebounds and 2 steals on 3-of-9 shooting (including 1-for-5 on 3-pointers) from the floor and made 8 of his 10 free throws in 21 minutes.
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“We’ve missed him in every facet,” Redick said, via ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “Both as an on-ball player, off-ball player, a connector, leadership on the court, competitive spirit — competitive spirit, defensively.”
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Reaves entered the game with 1:30 left in the first quarter following a timeout and the Lakers holding a 38-21 lead. His first points came at the end of the frame, making two free throws after drawing a foul on Nic Claxton.
Early in the second quarter, Reaves looked comfortable on the court, lobbing a pass off the backboard to LeBron James for a dunk.
James scored a game-high 25 points with 7 assists, followed by Luka Dončić with 24 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. Jake LaRivia added 18 points and 5 boards as the Lakers went 5-3 on their eight-game road trip and improved their record to 30-19.
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The Nets dropped to 13-36, tied for the second-worst record in the East. Michael Porter Jr. led Brooklyn with 21 points, in addition to 10 rebounds. Day’Ron Sharpe contributed 19 points and 14 boards, while Ziaire Williams tallied 17 points.
Austin Reaves having career season before injury
Reaves had been listed as questionable on the NBA injury report before each of the Lakers’ last three games. After going through pregame warmups, he said he wanted to play against the Nets, according to The Athletic’s Dan Woike. Brooklyn proved to be an ideal opponent for Reaves to work himself back in, allowing 40 points in the first quarter and trailing 69-40 at halftime.
Before his injury, Reaves had been averaging a career-high 26.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 6.3 assists in 23 games. He was shooting 37% on 170 3-point attempts.
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Reaves, 27, sustained the injury during the second quarter of the Lakers’ Christmas Day 119-96 loss to the Houston Rockets. He did not return after halftime. An MRI revealed the Grade 2 strain and team officials said Reaves would be out for at least four weeks. Reaves eventually missed five weeks.
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Prior to the injury versus Houston, the fifth-year guard missed three games with a Grade 1 strain in a different part of his left calf. Before facing the Rockets, Reaves returned to play against the Phoenix Suns and was under a minute restriction for those two games.
