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Reaves called himself a lucky basketball player after scoring 43 against a Pistons team with one of the better defenses in the league. Walker Kessler, who had 12 points and 16 rebounds, disagreed: the Lakers win whether the night belongs to Doncic or to him.
A 43-point answer with one turnover
The absence was the story going in: Doncic came into Sunday averaging 45 points over a four-game winning run that had left the Lakers at 8-2.
Reaves completed the assignment in full: 43 points, 11 of 11 free throws, one turnover and 36:41 on the floor.
A 23.0-point average over the previous four games said Reaves was already carrying more; against Detroit he simply took the shots as well.
In the wider picture, Reaves played two seasons at Wichita State and one at Oklahoma before declaring for the 2021 draft, where the Pistons planned to take him 42nd; he declined so he could sign as a free agent with the Lakers, and Detroit moved on to Isaiah Livers, who played 130 NBA games and now plays in Japan.
Walker Kessler, who finished with 12 points and 16 rebounds, said Reaves sometimes accepts a secondary role when Doncic plays and that this performance showed how capable he is.
109-104 and a terrible shot that stayed up
On the night Los Angeles never lost the lead: a 26-point peak, 97 percent lead time and zero lead changes.
Detroit closed to 109-104 with under a minute to play after the Lakers could not get their offense into rhythm, setting up the final sequence.
The dagger was not designed: a flipped-up, one-legged three from Reaves that he described afterward as a lucky attempt that simply fell.
Detroit made 19 of 48 three-pointers against the Lakers' 11 of 28 and finished with 27 assists and 10 steals, but never led at any point.
Detroit's answer came from elsewhere: Jenkins with 31 points on eight made threes, Huerter with 24 and five blocks, neither enough to change who held the lead.
Kessler's 16 boards and 58 points in the paint
Kessler collected seven offensive rebounds among his 16 boards and blocked three shots, while Jarred Vanderbilt grabbed 10 rebounds in 14 minutes.
Ziaire Williams scored 17 points on 4-of-8 from three and Collin Sexton added 17 on 7-of-8 free throws, two more names beside Reaves, Kessler and Grimes in double figures.
Meanwhile, Cunningham's night was crowded out: 14 points on 6-of-15 shooting, eight assists, four turnovers and a minus-15 rating.
Both teams were back on the floor on Monday night: the Lakers in Atlanta at 9-2, the Pistons at home against Washington at 6-3.
Detroit owned eight offensive rebounds from Reed and 11 from Thompson and still lost the glass by a single board.
Editor's take: Winning through absences is how a 9-2 team keeps climbing; Los Angeles found one answer on Sunday and it scored 43.
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