Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves returned to the court Thursday night, joining Luka Doncic in the starting lineup to lead the team to a 114-110 preseason win over the Sacramento Kings at Crypto.com Arena.
Reaves missed the Lakers’ opening two exhibition contests earlier in the week due to a sprained ankle suffered during a team practice, the California Post reported. The guard, who recently agreed to a four-year, $180 million contract extension, started in a lineup featuring Doncic, Quentin Grimes, Adou Thiero and Kevon Looney.
Dynamic backcourt pairing
Reaves quickly connected with Doncic on the opening play of the game, delivering an assist to the Slovenian superstar on a driving layup that drew a foul, according to the Los Angeles Times. Reaves logged 25 minutes on the floor, compiling eight points on 2-of-7 shooting along with eight assists and five rebounds.
Doncic also played 25 minutes, pacing all scorers with 23 points despite shooting 6-for-16 from the field, according to box score numbers reported by Bleacher Report. Doncic added nine points on a perfect 9-of-9 night from the free-throw line, but he also drew a technical foul midway through the third quarter. Reserve forward Sandro Mamukelashvili contributed 19 points to assist in the victory.
Lakers head coach JJ Redick expressed enthusiasm for having both Reaves and Doncic steering the offense simultaneously.
“I think there’s good chemistry with each other,” Redick told reporters, as quoted by the Los Angeles Times. “I think it’s just the natural way they like each other. They like playing together. I think having them together means there’s automatically two ballhandlers on the court. I think that’s like an underrated part of the NBA now … having two-to-three ballhandlers on the floor at all times.”
Off the bench, Bronny James played 22 minutes, converting one of his three shot attempts while distributing six assists, Bleacher Report noted.
Roster sidelined by injuries
Despite securing their second win in three exhibition games, the Lakers remained thin at several spots on the roster. Big man Walker Kessler, acquired in the offseason from the Utah Jazz in a four-year, $130 million sign-and-trade deal, missed his third consecutive game because of an injured finger sustained after striking the backboard in practice.
Redick noted that medical staff would re-evaluate Kessler’s finger on Friday, adding that the setback is not serious and expecting the 7-foot-2 center to see action before the preseason concludes.
The Lakers also held out Collin Sexton, Ziaire Williams, Dalton Knecht, Cameron Carr and two-way player Arthur Kaluma. Williams was sidelined for a second straight matchup with muscular soreness that Redick categorized as non-concerning. Knecht and Carr were unavailable due to contusions, according to Orange County Register reporting cited by Sports Illustrated.
What comes next
The Lakers now have four days away from game action before heading to Las Vegas to face Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday, Oct. 13 at T-Mobile Arena. Los Angeles will conclude its exhibition slate on Oct. 16 against Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets at home, before the front office must finalize rotation minutes and trim the roster down to 15 players.
