Shocking Austin Reaves Performance Leads Los Angeles Lakers Over Orlando Magic

An unlikely hero saved the day for the Los Angeles Lakers in last night's 111-105 win over the Orlando Magic. Second-year guard Austin Reaves exploded for a career-high 35 points while also contributing six rebounds and six assists, all off the bench.

What a performance by Austin Reaves ‼️

35 PTS (career-high)
6 REB
6 AST
W pic.twitter.com/uVPAFN2OjZ
— NBA (@NBA) March 20, 2023

Reaves hit nine of his 14 field goal attempts and 16 of his 18 free throws. It was his first 30+ point game of the season and only the second of his young career. At 25 years old, Reaves appears to be rounding into a credible rotational player: he's averaging 12.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game with a sensational .673 true shooting percentage. If he can maintain his efficiency at a higher load, he could be just the offensive complement the Lakers have been looking for.

The Lakers are 35-37 and 10th in the Western Conference, so every game for the rest of the season will be absolutely critical. They've managed to keep their heads above water by going 5-6 over LeBron James' recent 11-game absence, but they'll need to do even better if they want to claw their way out of the play-in tournament. The Lakers are currently 1.5 games behind the sixth-seeded Dallas Mavericks.

The Lakers host the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday night.