Austin Reaves and the Los Angeles Lakers fell 126-106 Thursday night to the Milwaukee Bucks at the Fiserv Forum. LA was led by superstar guard Luka Doncic who tied his season-high with 45 points tonight on 51.9% shooting and seven threes. The five-time All-Star also became the third player in Lakers history to record 45 points, 10 rebounds and five threes in a game, joining Kobe Bryant and LeBron James (via NBA).
Reaves, who missed two games due to a strained calf earlier this month, has struggled since returning from injury but excelled against the Bucks. The former undrafted guard out of Oklahoma scored 28 points on 58.8% shooting; this was his first time recording more points than his average for the season (18.8) since Feb. 27.
Following the loss, Reaves spoke to reporters about the outlook for the Lakers and what they need to emphasize moving forward.
"Nobody feels sorry for us, everybody's gonna want to beat us by 30, so we gotta figure out a way to not let that happen and go compete and win games," said Reaves. "We don't really have room for error, we just gotta go play really good basketball games, and we just haven't done that the last two or so games."
Austin Reaves speaks about the spot the Lakers find themselves in, losers of three in a row, down three starters, and beginning a stretch of six games in eight days 0-1 after a blowout to the Bucks: "JJ [Redick] said when he walked in, ‘Everything was good a week ago'" pic.twitter.com/OTAf8A23l1
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) March 14, 2025
Reaves has had a breakout year for Los Angeles averaging new career-highs in points (18.8), assists (5.9), and rebounds (4.3). The Arkansas native is expected to do the majority of the scoring and playmaking for Los Angeles any time Doncic and James are not on the floor.
This marks the third straight loss for the Lakers after an eight-game winning streak. LA continues to battle durability as three starters were out James (left groin strain), Jaxson Hayes (right knee contusion), and Rui Hachimura (left patellar tendinopathy).
As injury issues continue to plague the Lakers, they are dropping in the standings. The once second-seed in the Western Conference has now fallen to a tie for fourth with the Houston Rockets, however, they still sit just one game behind both the Denver Nuggets and Memphis Grizzlies for second.
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This story was originally published March 14, 2025 at 1:50 AM.