Los Angeles Lakers center Jaxson Hayes, left, Lakers’ guard Marcus Smart (36), Lakers’ guard Austin Reaves and guard Luke Kennard, right, react after a three-point basket by Lakers’ forward Dalton Knecht (4) during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Utah Jazz, April 12, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo\/Jayne Kamin-Oncea) (Jayne Kamin-Oncea, Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)<\/p>\n
LOS ANGELES \u2013 Austin Reaves is returning from a nine-game injury absence Wednesday night when the Los Angeles Lakers attempt to finish their first-round playoff series with the Houston Rockets in Game 5.<\/p>\n
Reaves has been out since April 2 with strained oblique muscles, missing the final five games of the Lakers’ regular season and the first four games of the postseason<\/a>. But Reaves returned to practice last week, and he warmed up for the previous two games<\/a> in the series in Houston before being ruled out.<\/p>\n Reaves was injured in the same game in which NBA scoring champion Luka Doncic<\/a> strained his right hamstrings. Doncic doesn’t yet appear to be close to a return.<\/p>\n The Lakers won the first three games of the series without their top two scorers, but the Rockets took Game 4<\/a> to push the series back to Los Angeles.<\/p>\n Reaves averaged 23.3 points, 5.5 assists and 4.7 rebounds this season, but played in just 51 games thanks to the oblique injury and a strained left calf that sidelined him for 19 straight games from Christmas to February.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n