Monday’s seven-game NBA slate had its share of stars, and no one shone brighter than Austin Reaves. Here are the three stories that stood out.
Austin Reaves Carries the Lakers
Luka Doncic sat out with lower-back tightness, and he leads the league with 40.1 points per game. Austin Reaves treated it like an invitation. He scored a season-high 43 points, going 14-for-27 from the field and a perfect 11-for-11 from the free-throw line, as the Los Angeles Lakers held off the Detroit Pistons, 121-116, in Detroit. It was their fifth straight win.
It looked like a rout early. The Lakers, with Reaves in the controls, shot 16-for-23 in the first quarter and led, 38-14, as Quentin Grimes scored 10 in that stretch. But Detroit refused to fold. The Pistons were still down 14 late in the third quarter, then ran off a 13-2 run to cut it to 84-81. Daniss Jenkins had a career-high 31 points, Kevin Huerter added 24, and Detroit went 19-for-48 from three-point range in a comeback that fell just short as Reaves finished off his big night in a big way. It was the Pistons’ first back-to-back losses of the season.
The late scare wasn’t only on the scoreboard. Grimes left with 9:14 remaining and went to the locker room with a member of the medical staff, though the Lakers called the update encouraging.
Cooper Flagg Plays Point Guard
Cooper Flagg is only 19 years old, and he is already doing a little bit of everything. The reigning Rookie of the Year had 25 points and a career-high 12 assists, his third consecutive double-double and fourth of the season, as the Dallas Mavericks crushed the Brooklyn Nets, 130-93.
It was a night of firsts for Dallas. The Mavs shot a season-best 57.1% and scored a season-high 130 points. Flagg, who had a tough first half Friday, opened hot, hitting 5 of 6 shots in the first period for his 16th career 20-point half and first this season. Kyrie Irving added 21 points, and Daniel Gafford had 18. Brooklyn, 2-8, was swept in a back-to-back to start a four-game road trip.
Wolves Find the Line
The NBA’s worst free-throw team made 27 of 32 on Sunday. The Minnesota Timberwolves entered with the league’s worst free-throw percentage at .648, then went to the line and shot 84%, including a perfect 8-for-8 from Ayo Dosunmu.
Dosunmu scored 26 points, and LaMelo Ball added 24 points and 5 assists in a 115-100 win over the Utah Jazz. It was Minnesota’s fourth straight victory, and they played without Anthony Edwards, who is recovering from knee surgery. Utah, which was without Lauri Markkanen because of a right wrist injury, fell to 1-9. Making free throws is a small thing, until it isn’t
