MINNEAPOLIS — Austin Reaves managed to one-up himself again Wednesday, capping a 28-point, 16-assist night by hitting a floater at the buzzer to give the Los Angeles Lakers a 116-115 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Reaves continued his dream week, in which he lifted L.A. while Luka Doncic (left lower leg contusion and left finger sprain) and LeBron James (sciatica) are sidelined by dropping a career-high 51 points with 11 rebounds and 9 assists in a win over the Sacramento Kings on Sunday and following that up with 41 points against the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday.
Reaves’ winning score Wednesday came off a sideline inbounds pass near center court with 6.6 seconds left. He immediately split a double team by two players with All-Defensive Team credentials in Jaden McDaniels and Rudy Gobert at the top of the key, then drove into the lane and tossed in a floater from 12 feet while contorting his body to avoid colliding with Wolves guard Donte DiVincenzo, who was setting up to try to draw a charge.
Reaves said he “blacked out” after the ball fell through the net, and he sprinted down the court toward the Lakers’ bench, where he was mobbed by his euphoric teammates.
“That guy is going to show up in the big moments,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “I’m not surprised. He’s done that many times in his career.”
Reaves’ 16 assists tied a career high for the five-year veteran, and his game-winning shot saved the Lakers after the Wolves used a 14-2 run in the last four minutes to take the lead with 10.2 seconds left on a Julius Randle driving score, erasing what was once a 20-point, second-half lead for L.A.
“Everybody is looking at me, and in those situations, you have to be calm, be confident and lead your guys through [it],” Reaves said. “We were up [by] 10 [points] or so late, and they went on a run. … It’s hard to not kind of crumble in those situations. But you got to keep energy high, you got to keep the spirit high.”
He secured L.A.’s second win of the season against Minnesota, the team that knocked the Lakers out of the first round of the playoffs in the spring.
Reaves said that postseason upset — L.A. was the No. 3 seed and Minnesota was No. 6 — was on his mind coming into the night. The last time the Lakers played at Target Center in April, Reaves missed a potential tying 3 from the right corner at the buzzer and L.A. fell down 3-1 in the series.
“That one felt good,” Reaves said of his late-game heroics Wednesday. “I mean, for obvious reasons, we won. But last time we were in this building, I had the shot to tie it in the corner in the playoffs, in Game 4, and missed.
“Let me tell you, that feeling sucks.”
As dejected as the Lakers felt when their hopes of an extended postseason run were dashed, Reaves’ run has infused this group with inspiration, climbing above .500 at 3-2 with not just Doncic and James out, but Marcus Smart (right quad contusion), Gabe Vincent (left ankle sprain), Maxi Kleber (abdominal muscle strain) and Adou Thiero (left knee surgery recovery) also unavailable.
“I’m so proud of this group right now, honestly,” Redick said. “From where we were three weeks ago, where we’re discombobulated and guys are missing training camp and guys are modified participants, we’re starting to come together. And I’ve asked a lot. I’ve asked a lot of these guys and I’m asking a lot of them while we’re undermanned and they’re delivering.”
Reaves distributed his assists to a variety of teammates, as four other Lakers scored in double digits, led by Jake LaRavia (27 points on 10-for-11 shooting), Deandre Ayton (17 points on 8-for-11 shooting) and Rui Hachimura (17 points on 7-for-14 shooting) in the starting lineup and Dalton Knecht (15 points on 7-for-12 shooting) off the bench.
“We wouldn’t have been in that position [to win] if it wasn’t for everybody that chipped in tonight,” Reaves said. “Jake was monstrous. I think that’s the best basketball game I’ve seen him play since he’s been in the league.”
LaRavia, who chose to sign with the Lakers as a free agent in the offseason in part because of his close relationship with Reaves, said the team has no problem taking its cues from Reaves while its All-Stars heal.
“He’s a dog, he’s a leader, he’s a competitor,” LaRavia said. “He helps rally us together in all the tough times during a game. And he’s been leading us these last couple games that our players have been out and he’s going to keep on doing that.”
And keep adding pages to his storybook basketball existence, having entered the league undrafted in 2021 and now, four years later, having scored the second-most points out of any player through the first week of the season, trailing only the Oklahoma City Thunder‘s reigning NBA MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
“I fell in love with the game because my brother loved it, I got to spend a lot of time with him. Both my parents played, too. It was kind of … it was meant to be,” Reaves said, sharing how he declared at the ripe age of 7 that he would play in the NBA someday. “It’s been a fun week. But there’s a lot of basketball to go.”
