Austin Reaves emphasized the importance of persistence after the Los Angeles Lakers’ 116-99 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Friday night at Crypto.com Arena. “Just continue to play hard, play the right way, and yeah, it’s a tough game, but got to go to work and be successful,” Reaves said regarding the decisive fourth quarter.
The guard scored 15 of his 26 points in the final period as the Lakers pulled away from a young Brooklyn squad. “I mean, it was me. We played in Orlando. Little scramble match. It’s me, Bron, Bronny, Luka, and Luke, against coaches. And as expected, you know, we beat them really bad,” Reaves recounted about team bonding during the road trip.
Reaves also reflected on managing workload during a stretch of heavy minutes. “Yeah, definitely playing golf tomorrow. I don’t know what time, but I’ll be out there. Just know family’s here, enjoy family time, hang out with them,” he said when asked about using the days off for recovery.
The Lakers had just returned from a 5-1 road trip, with Reaves playing a key role in maintaining momentum. “Seeing how much these guys enjoy the game now actually means a lot to me because they gave me forever about playing. So, I’m glad that they’re addicted,” he added.
Regarding his scoring burst in the fourth quarter, Reaves noted, “I don’t want to say that I had a slow start, but I did have 15 of my points in that fourth quarter. Help you stay engaged in these kinds of games where you got to kind of wait for the ball to either find you or to go in consistently and just continue to play basketball the right way.”
LeBron James contributed 14 points and eight assists, while Luka Doncic added 41 points and eight rebounds despite picking up his 16th technical foul of the season. Austin Reaves’ late-game scoring helped the Lakers secure their 11th win in 12 games, reinforcing their third-place position in the Western Conference standings.
Reaves highlighted the value of team chemistry and experience during tough stretches. “I rode in the car for Luka with Luka for about five hours. So, y’all can feel sorry for me. But yeah, no, it was fun,” he said, illustrating the off-court bonding that carries into on-court performance.
The Lakers will host the Washington Wizards on Monday, following their first consecutive days off since the All-Star break, while Brooklyn will travel to face Sacramento on Sunday.