Austin Reaves was coming off a 51-point outing in an impressive 127-120 win for the Los Angeles Lakers over the Sacramento Kings. But he and the Lakers did not have much time to celebrate that incredible, career-best outing. The Lakers had to lock in less than 24 hours later, as they had to face the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday night.
That game against the Blazers did go as swimmingly for the Lakers; they ended up suffering a 122-108 defeat, as their shorthanded roster could not keep up with a much more youthful and deeper Blazers squad. This LA team, as one should remember, was without Luka Doncic and LeBron James. They were also without Gabe Vincent, who's set to miss two to four weeks with an ankle injury. Just to make matters worse, Marcus Smart and Jaxson Hayes were also out.
Reaves admitted that it was not fun at all to go up against the Blazers and to suffer a loss.
“Last night was fun. Didn't sleep much. That was much more fun because we won. [Tonight], it’s not as fun when you don’t win,” Reaves told reporters following their loss to the Blazers, via Dave McMenamin of ESPN.
“Last night was fun … [Tonight] it’s not as fun when you don’t win.” Austin Reaves on the whirlwind experience of scoring 92 points in 48 hours in two games in two cities. pic.twitter.com/L9aKuOf21l
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) October 28, 2025
Reaves, for his part, followed up his incredible 51-point outing against the Kings with another solid outing, putting up 41 points on 13-22 shooting from the field against a Blazers team that hangs its hat on the defensive end of the floor.
The Lakers guard was being hounded by the likes of Toumani Camara and Jrue Holiday all night long, and yet he still managed to carry the Purple and Gold's offense to a respectable level.
This Lakers team, however, has to get healthy very soon, as they are at risk of burning Reaves out this early in the season if this keeps up.
Blazers clamp down on the Lakers
The Blazers certainly learned from the Kings' mistake; they did not allow the Lakers to simply bring the ball up unimpeded and get into their offensive sets without much resistance.
Portland was putting on the pressure from the backcourt all night long, and it resulted in a few foolish turnovers from the Lakers. They needed ballhandling so badly, and they couldn't rely on Nick Smith Jr. or Bronny James to provide some playmaking relief.
The Lakers, however, will have to survive at least another five to six days of not having another primary ballhandler to share the load with Reaves.
