Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves suffered a frightening fall late in the second quarter as his team lost 101-93 to the United States Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday evening. Luckily he was able to get back into the game in the second half and didn't appear to be significantly hampered.
“The angle of the game was a player in the air passing the ball, and that's why I stopped dunking very early in my life,” Lakers coach said JJ Redick said. “It's clear that he couldn't get going in the first half. He's tough and I thought he moved well, so he wasn't really in the flow of the game and couldn't start in the second half. He will.” I’ll be in pain tomorrow and we’ll just have to decide what happens next.
With just over three and a half minutes left in the first half, Reaves faked a handoff to his teammate Max Christiewhich completely deceived the thunder. He had a clear runway to the edge and tried to get there beforehand Shai Gilgeous Alexander And Isaiah Hartensteinwho desperately tried to recover from the weakness. The three came together at the basket at the same time and the force of the collision caused Reaves to fall to the ground, where he landed squarely on his back.
After receiving care from the Lakers' medical staff, Reaves briefly remained in the game. He made both free throws and attempted a three-pointer on the ensuing possession, but didn't make good progress. At the next dead ball he stopped the game and immediately made his way to the locker room.
It seemed like Reaves was done for the night, especially since he didn't come out of the locker room at the start of the second half. However, he returned to the bench midway through the third quarter and checked in with 6:17 left. He finished the game with 11 points, five rebounds and three assists.
Reaves has taken another step forward this season, entering Friday with a career-high 17.1 points, 3.4 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game on 37% shooting from behind the arc. He is third on the team in scoring behind LeBron James And Anthony Davis and only James is behind him in assists. He has also been an iron man for the Lakers, playing in all 18 games so far this season after appearing in all 82 games last year.
Losing him for an extended period of time would have been bad news for the Lakers, who have endured a rollercoaster ride through the first five weeks of the season. After winning six straight games earlier this month, they have now lost four of their last five games and are 11-8 and in sixth place in the crowded Western Conference.
