One of the main stories coming out of the Los Angeles Lakers’ victory over the New York Knicks was the aggression of Austin Reaves, who put forth what was easily his best game since the All-Star break. Reaves finally looked more like the player who was on an All-Star trajectory earlier this season prior to his calf injury and the hope was that he would build on that performance in the Lakers’ contest against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Reaves would struggle mightily in the first half, however, scoring just two points on 1-of-8 shooting as the Lakers and Timberwolves were tied at the break. But the second half was a completely different story as Reaves was unguardable, knocking down 9-of-12 from the field and 4-of-5 from deep to finish the game with 31 points, seven rebounds and eight assists in the Lakers’ 120-106 victory.
As for what changed in the second half, Reaves had a simple answer.
“I finally made some shots, that’s really it,” the Lakers guard said. “Having fun playing basketball. When we have movement offensively, making the right play, things get much easier when that happens.”
Reaves was just at another level in the second half, even converting two separate four-point plays and getting to wherever he wanted on the floor. Some players may have been discouraged after the first half that Reaves had, but he made it a point to not dwell on a subpar performance.
“Just continuing to play,” Reaves said of his focus. “Not dwell on, not gonna say a bad half, but missed some easy shots. Thought I made some good plays, but just continuing to play the game.”
Him doing so, along with another excellent performance from Luka Doncic, allowed the Lakers to pull away in the second half for their sixth win in seven games and second straight double-digit victory over a playoff team. That is what is most important to Reaves, who feels the Lakers are starting to come together at the right time.
“Yeah. That’s two really good wins in a row,” Reaves noted. “Like you said, we’ve won six out of seven and it feels like we’re trending in the right direction, just gotta continue to stick to the plan and continue to get better every single day and compete at a high level.”
There are a lot of factors in the Lakers playing at their highest possible level and Reaves being aggressive and playing like an All-Star is one of the biggest. If he can continue that, there is little doubt the Lakers can compete with just about anyone in the NBA.
Lakers coach JJ Redick praises Deandre Ayton for performance vs. Timberwolves
Another key to the Lakers’ success going forward is the play of center Deandre Ayton and head coach JJ Redick was very happy with his performance in the win over the Timberwolves.
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