MINNEAPOLIS (AP) \u2014 Austin Reaves had the ball for the final possession, of course, dribbling left off the high screen\u2026<\/p>\n
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) \u2014 Austin Reaves had the ball for the final possession, of course, dribbling left off the high screen before seeing his opening to split the double team with a crossover and beeline into the lane.<\/p>\n
Lacking the space and time to reach the rim, Reaves rose up for a floater and, with a quick flick from 12 feet out, swished the winner for the Los Angeles Lakers right before the buzzer for a 116-115 victory<\/a> over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we all knew that was ballgame,\u201d teammate Dalton Knecht said.<\/p>\n After catching his balance and coming to grips with his latest feat \u2014 he said afterward he didn\u2019t see the shot go through the net because he \u201cprobably blacked out a little bit\u201d \u2014 Reaves spun toward the visiting bench and ran over to jump around in a mob of giddy teammates.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat tier he is, I don\u2019t know. I don\u2019t care about that, but I think last year he established himself as a bad dude,\u201d Lakers coach J.J. Redick said. \u201cThis is who he is.\u201d<\/p>\n Luka Doncic and LeBron James, who stayed home from this road trip to focus on recovering from their injuries, immediately posted their praise on social media<\/a>. Reaves mostly aw-shucked it off, but the headband-donning Arkansas native who went undrafted out of Oklahoma in 2021 has not shied at all from the load he must carry when the team\u2019s generational stars are missing.<\/p>\n \u201cThe big thing is he\u2019s established himself as the leader,\u201d Redick said. \u201cThat\u2019s big time. That\u2019s what we need from him.\u201d<\/p>\n With six players unavailable because of injuries, including point guards Marcus Smart and Gabe Vincent, Reaves has taken on a heavy ball-handling responsibility while getting blitzed often by opposing defenses that don\u2019t have to worry about Doncic. <\/p>\n Even on a night when he shot only 9 for 24 from the floor, Reaves had 28 points and matched his career high with 16 assists to help the Lakers build a 20-point lead by late in the third quarter. They needed every bit of it to beat the Wolves, who \u2014 after a 3-pointer by Reaves with 4:01 left put the Lakers up 112-101 \u2014 used a 14-2 run to take the lead with 10.2 seconds to go.<\/p>\n \u201cTo have that opportunity for a big road win, especially with a lot of people out, is special,\u201d Reaves said, reflecting on his missed shot from the corner at the buzzer on the same court in Game 4<\/a> of the first-round playoff series last spring that would\u2019ve tied it only to watch the Wolves hold on and eliminate the Lakers in Game 5. \u201cWe kept hooping, and they kept encouraging me to go do what I do.\u201d<\/p>\n Reaves, who had a career-high 51 points in a win over Sacramento<\/a> on Sunday and 41 points in defeat by Portland<\/a> on Monday, became the first Lakers player since Kobe Bryant 20 years ago to start a season with five consecutive games of 25-plus points.<\/p>\n In his postgame interview at Target Center, Reaves got sentimental as he recalled blurting out to his mother\u2019s best friend at age 7 that he planned to play in the NBA \u2014 even though he was more of a baseball player at the time and didn\u2019t think much of basketball. <\/p>\n Now here is playing for one of the league\u2019s most iconic franchises. After averaging a career-best 20.2 points per game last season, Reaves has elevated his game even further \u2014 out of necessity with James missing to start and more recently Doncic joining him on the shelf.<\/p>\n \u201cPhysically it\u2019s a little more, but I\u2019m always mentally trying to figure out how I can help \u2014 with them two and without them two,\u201d Reaves said, playfully pleading for all of the team\u2019s missing players to return quickly.<\/p>\n But in the stacked Western Conference, these early tests could go a long way for the Lakers in their quest to return to depths of the playoffs.<\/p>\n \u201cThe camaraderie that we\u2019ve built in a short period of time has been great,\u201d Reaves said, \u201cand we\u2019re going to continue to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n