E Da Old Tymer

When news outlets were issuing updates reporting that Laker star, Luca Doncic, would not be suiting up on the road against the Sacramento Kings due to a bum finger and leg, fans and sports books alike saw the Lakers going from favorite to underdog.

Austin Reaves took that personally.

Reaves embraced his “next man up” role and torched the hosting Kings for 51 points in the Lakers (2-1) victory over the Kings (1-2) 127-120.  He would finish with a double-double, adding 10 rebounds and nine dimes.   The four-year veteran is entering his fifth season averaging 34 points over the last three games on almost 57 percent shooting from the field.  He is also shooting 45 percent from beyond long range.  One glaring stat of the night will no doubt be the notorious free-throws as Reaves went to the charity stripe 22 times, sinking 21 of those shots.  You can bet that this will be a discussion topic on sports media today.

Another bright side in the Lakers win was the play of their new center, DeAndre Ayton.  Ayton, who seemed to start slow this season, made his presence known with 22 points going 10-17 from the field as well as grabbing 15 rebounds and making life difficult for the Kings offense.  Forward Rui Hachimura had a nice night, scoring 18 points and Marcus Smart contributed 11 points in his first start of the season for the Lakers.  The Lakers bench also performed better than they did the last two games as Dalton Knecht, Jarred Vanderbilt, and Jake LaRavia provided 22 points collectively.

The Kings star guard, Zach LeVine did what he could to keep his team in the contest, going 12-24 from the field for 32 points while dealing with an illness.  DeMar DeRozen added 21 and Dennis Schroder added 18 in the losing effort.

The Kings bench also did what they could, with Russell Westbrook hitting some big shots and finishing the game with 18 points in 27 minutes of action.  Malik Monk also dropped 15 points in his reserve role, hitting three of his six shots from deep.  The Kings were hoping to ride the momentum from their win against the Portland Trailblazers.  However, the Lakers defense was just too much, playing passing lanes for deflections and steals and converting them for easy points.  And when Reaves decides to put his head down and drive the lane, defenses can be sure they will be in for a long night.

Lakers guard Gabe Vincent played 19 minutes and scored three points before leaving the game with a leg injury.

The Lakers will have no time to savor this win as they head to Portland tonight to take on the Trailblazers.