The Los Angeles Lakers picked up a big win in their final game before the All-Star break, taking down the Utah Jazz 138-122. Anthony Davis and Rui Hachimura led the way scoring wise and D’Angelo Russell dished out 17 assists, but Austin Reaves also had a big night as well.
Reaves was extremely efficient on the night, shooting 9-of-13 from the field and 3-of-5 from deep to finish with 22 points, seven assists and three steals. The Lakers continued their excellent play as of late, even with LeBron James sitting out, and Reaves feels it is simply a case of the team playing basketball the right way, via Spectrum SportsNet:
“I think we’re just playing the game the right way. Making the extra pass, not really caring who goes and wins us the game. Just playing the right way and it’s a different person every night.”
The Lakers once again moved the ball extremely well with 34 assists on the night, which led to them shooting 57.1% from the field and 45.2% from 3-point range. And Reaves pointed to the end of their recent Grammy road trip as giving the Lakers more confidence and energy offensively:
“I think it’s a little bit of everything. Learning to play alongside one another, kind of get in that rhythm. I think the way we ended that road trip in Boston and New York, that gave us a lot of energy. But I think it’s just time and a testament to the players we have.”
Things are finally begin to click for the Lakers and even though the Jazz aren’t the best team, this was still a very dangerous game for the Lakers. The final game before the All-Star break, on the road, on a second night of a back-to-back without James, this could have easily been a bad loss for the Lakers. But Reaves credited the team for sticking together and stepping up:
“At the end of the game, I was telling everybody how good of a win that was. I don’t think we got here until 3:30 last night, on a back-to-back against a team that is young and plays hard. It don’t matter what point of the game it is, they’re gonna keep scrapping. It’s tough to come in here and get a win like that obviously without Bron, a big part of what we do. But I thought we stayed the course really well, we didn’t press at any time, we just played the game the right way. I know with AD and Rui playing the way that they played, scoring the way that they scored, and I know everybody else around that had a very solid performance.”
The key for the Lakers now will be to continue to build on this momentum once they return from the All-Star break. If they can continue to play at this level, and stay healthy, another postseason run could be on the horizon.
Austin Reaves confident in Lakers roster after the trade deadline
After not making a move at the trade deadline, the Lakers roster is basically set, aside from potential buyout additions. The team always added Spencer Dinwiddie though, so they could be done making moves. But even before he was brought in, Austin Reaves was confident in the roster.
“It’s great. It’s basically been the same thing all year,” Reaves said of the Lakers’ locker room after the deadline. “The vibe has been good. Now, just knowing that this is what we got, maybe add a piece still from the guys that aren’t on a contract right now got bought out. But like I said, this is what we have. And we’re confident in that. Just got to keep building our togetherness on the court.”
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