Coming out of the Los Angeles Lakers’ loss on Sunday to the Chicago Bulls, one of the main talking points was former Laker Patrick Beverley taunting LeBron James with his signature ‘too small’ gesture after a fourth-quarter bucket. On Wednesday night, the Lakers got some revenge and this time it was Austin Reaves having some fun at his former teammate’s expense.
With the Lakers having things comfortably in hand in the fourth quarter of their 11-point win, Reaves drove to the basket and hit a floater over Beverley. Afterward, he immediately made the ‘too small’ motion towards Beverley which got a rise out of everyone watching.
Reaves spoke about it after the game, noting that it wasn’t something he had planned all night, but that it just felt right at the time, via Spectrum SportsNet:
“He did it last time we played to Bron. It wasn’t something I thought about doing all game, but I felt like right time, right situation. Like you said me and Pat got a good relationship, I respect him. It’s just me competing.”
As Reaves noted, he and Beverley have a great relationship and there is no doubt the former Laker took it all in stride, especially after he did the same on Sunday. One thing that is clear about Reaves is that he is a competitor who won’t back down to anyone and that was certainly the case here.
After a rough outing on Sunday, Reaves bounced back with 19 points and five assists in the Lakers’ win Wednesday. Likewise, Anthony Davis made sure to make up for his lackluster performance as he led the Lakers with 38 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, two blocks and two steals to ensure the Lakers got back in the win column.
But as has been the case recently, it was Reaves who generated a lot of conversation coming off the Lakers’ victory. Beverley is known for his antics on the court, but sometimes he has to eat his words and leave it to Austin Reaves to rub it in just a little bit more.
Lakers in eighth place following win over Bulls
As fun and satisfying as Reaves’ moment with Beverley was, the most important thing was the Lakers getting the win and where that leaves them in the Western Conference standings.
The Lakers now sit in eighth place in the West, just 0.5 games behind the Minnesota Timberwolves for seventh. And coincidentally, the Lakers and Timberwolves face on Friday night in an absolutely critical contest.
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