Austin Reaves hit a career-high 51 points, and it looks like a bit of back-and-forth with Luka Doncic may have given him an extra push.
With news of Luka’s injury breaking before the game, some fans were worried about how the Lakers would cope without him and LeBron James.
It seemed like too much for one team to handle, but Reaves answered the call, scoring 51 in the win over Sacramento.
Afterwards, LeBron had some fun comments about Doncic in his postgame remarks, while he also hailed the 27-year-old. And as it turns out, there might have been a bit more to that story than just friendly banter.
Luka Doncic’s trash talk helped fire up Austin Reaves for 51-point game
After putting up a career-high 51 points, Reaves spoke to reporters about how Doncic played a role in his big night, even though the Mavericks star was not on the court.
According to the shooting guard, their competitive back-and-forth is nothing new, and it was Doncic daring him to hit 60 that seemed to spark the performance.
“I ain’t gonna lie, I went to the free throw line and I’m like ‘s—, I better not miss (the free throw). I texted him this morning, I guess we had a funny exchange…
“Me and (Luka), our whole relationship is just talking trash back and forth. Towards the end of the conversation, he was like, ‘I need 60 tonight,’ and I was like, ‘hahaha.’
“And that was the end of the conversation. He probably has texted me, but I haven’t looked at my phone.”
Reaves had joked about Luka missing out on 50 points earlier in the week, so this performance will only add more fuel to their ongoing competition.
Austin Reaves matches Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
After putting up 51 points, Austin Reaves now has two games with 45 or more points, both coming in 2025.
This ties him with Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most games with at least 45 points by a Lakers player, as both legends also had two such performances during their time in Los Angeles.
With Doncic still sidelined, Reaves is expected to remain the primary scoring option, giving him a good chance to pass those legends in the near future.
But what he really wants is to follow in their footsteps by helping the Lakers win another championship title.
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