The Los Angeles Lakers pulled out a razor-thin victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Friday night and Austin Reaves was a huge part of their hard-fought win.
Reaves scored a career-high 38 points during the game, as well as three rebounds, three assists, two steals, and a block.
Following the game, LeBron James spoke with Spectrum SportsNet about Reaves and how much he helped the team.
“He knows what to do. We needed every bucket that he had tonight,” James said, before adding that Reaves was “in a rhythm.”
“He’s showing every night that he belongs,” James added.
LeBron James on Austin Reaves’ career-high game vs. the Brooklyn Nets.
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James said the Lakers knew Brooklyn would come out swinging after they suffered a very embarrassing loss just a few nights before.
They were expecting the Nets to play hard, and that is exactly what they did.
If it weren’t for Reaves, the 102-101 victory probably wouldn’t have been possible, especially since Anthony Davis was out with an injury.
It’s been another fantastic season for Reaves, who is averaging 18.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 6.1 assists per game in 2024-25.
He has improved his game in multiple ways, including how he performs his assists and how well he reads the floor and his teammates.
Reaves was all over Friday night’s game and ended up being the Lakers’ MVP.
The Lakers have now won two games in a row, but they are about to face the Clippers on Sunday evening.
That means they will need Reaves to keep playing really well, but they will also require other stars to show up and join him.
Friday night’s win was too close for comfort for the Lakers, but it wouldn’t have been possible without Reaves.
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