A one-legged three with the clock dying seals Detroit
Austin Reaves scored 43 points on 14-of-27 shooting, including 11-of-11 from the free-throw line, as the Lakers beat the Pistons 121-116 on Sunday in Detroit
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Detroit trailed by 26 in the second quarter, closed to 109-104 in the final minute and was answered by the least defensible shot of the night, a one-legged, off-balance Reaves three that sealed a 121-116 Lakers win.
A 43-point answer with one turnover
The absence was the story going in: Doncic came into Sunday averaging 45 points over a four-game winning run that had left the Lakers at 8-2.
Reaves finished with 43 points on 14-of-27 shooting, 4-of-6 from three and a perfect 11-of-11 from the free-throw line, adding five rebounds, four assists and one turnover in 36 minutes.
He came into the game averaging 23.0 points during that stretch, so the request was not a miracle, only that the second option become the first for one night.
Kessler pushed back on the luck talk: with Doncic on the floor Reaves takes a secondary role, and 43 points made the case that it is a choice, not a ceiling.
Notably, Reaves played two seasons at Wichita State and one at Oklahoma before declaring for the 2021 draft, where the Pistons planned to take him 42nd; he declined so he could sign as a free agent with the Lakers, and Detroit moved on to Isaiah Livers, who played 130 NBA games and now plays in Japan.
A lead the Pistons never held
On the night Los Angeles never lost the lead: a 26-point peak, 97 percent lead time and zero lead changes.
Detroit closed to 109-104 with under a minute to play after the Lakers could not get their offense into rhythm, setting up the final sequence.
The dagger was not designed: a flipped-up, one-legged three from Reaves that he described afterward as a lucky attempt that simply fell.
In the wider picture, Detroit's answer came from elsewhere: Jenkins with 31 points on eight made threes, Huerter with 24 and five blocks, neither enough to change who held the lead.
The Pistons outshot Los Angeles from the arc, 19 makes to 11, and still spent the entire evening behind.
Cunningham's night and the fixtures ahead
Kessler collected seven offensive rebounds among his 16 boards and blocked three shots, while Jarred Vanderbilt grabbed 10 rebounds in 14 minutes.
Ziaire Williams scored 17 points on 4-of-8 from three and Collin Sexton added 17 on 7-of-8 free throws, two more names beside Reaves, Kessler and Grimes in double figures.
Cunningham's night was crowded out: 14 points on 6-of-15 shooting, eight assists, four turnovers and a minus-15 rating.
The Lakers improved to 9-2 and travelled to Atlanta for the Monday-night game that followed, while the Pistons dropped to 6-3 and hosted Washington the same evening.
Paul Reed had 10 rebounds with eight of them offensive and Ausar Thompson pulled 11 boards, yet Detroit finished one rebound behind.
Editor's take: Reaves' 43 is the kind of line a player files under luck; 11-of-11 from the free-throw line is not a coin flip.
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