The Los Angeles Lakers improved to 9-4 on the season, and 2-0 in NBA Cup play following their 118-104 win against the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday. In the Lakers’ win, Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves continued to lay their claim to being the best duo in the NBA as both players combined for 55 points in the penultimate game of the team’s current road trip.
Austin Reaves led the way for the Lakers with a team-high 31 points, while Luka Doncic dropped 24 points against the Pelicans. Reaves also added four rebounds, seven assists, one steal and one blocked shot in a little over 38 minutes. Doncic added seven rebounds, 12 assists, two steals and one blocked shot in a little over 40 minutes of play.
The Lakers have been without LeBron James to start the season as he recovers from a nerve injury, however, signs point to James nearing a return to the court amid his practicing with the team’s G League affiliate in the South Bay Lakers. But in the meantime, Reaves and Doncic have done an admirable job of stepping up and leading the team in James’ absence.
Both players have dealt with early injury issues as well, and Reaves recently returned to the lineup after suffering a groin injury. In Doncic’s case, he had both a finger issue and a leg issue that caused him to miss five games.
Coming into Friday’s game against the Pelicans, Doncic has appeared in eight games at a little over 36 minutes per game. He’s been averaging 34.9 points, 9.1 rebounds, 8.9 assists and 1.8 steals with splits of 47.6 percent shooting from the field, 30.8 percent shooting from the three-point line and 77.5 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
With Reaves, he has appeared in nine games at just about 36 minutes per game. He was averaging 28.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, 8.3 assists and 1.4 steals with splits of 47 percent shooting from the field, 30.3 percent shooting from the three-point line and 87.6 percent shooting from the free-throw line. It’s been a career year so far for Reaves that’s including a career-best 51 points last month.
The Lakers have one more game remaining on their road trip on Saturday against the Milwaukee Bucks. They return home next week on Tuesday, Nov. 18 against the Utah Jazz.
