When the Los Angeles Lakers won the inaugural NBA Cup on Saturday by defeating the Indiana Pacers 123-109 in Las Vegas, much of the individual attention went to LeBron James. He capped off some stellar play in the team’s seven tourney games with 24 points, 11 rebounds and four assists to wrap up the tourney MVP award.
His co-superstar Anthony Davis was the best player on the floor with 41 points, 20 rebounds, five assists and four blocked shots. Davis was everywhere, and there was nothing the Pacers could do to even remotely slow him down.
But Austin Reaves was also a big factor in the Lakers’ triumph. He scored 28 points on 9-of-15 field-goal shooting and 10-of-12 from the free throw line, and he helped keep the Pacers at bay whenever they threatened to make a real run.
Los Angeles head coach Darvin Ham was effusive in his praise of the undrafted guard while mentioning the fact that he wasn’t 100%.
Darvin Ham on the first-ever NBA In-Season Tournament: "I dig it. It was a beautiful experience." pic.twitter.com/z1ZhnClpWV
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) December 10, 2023
“I don’t think he gets enough credit for how competitive he is,” Ham said of Reaves. “He’s a competitor, man. You watch him work on his game, you watch him try to go make plays for his team, make plays on both sides of the ball — he’s just a high, highly, highly elite, intelligent basketball thinker and worker, and it shows once we get in these moments when we need him. As I mentioned with Bron and AD, Austin is also one of those guys that can carry the group through certain segments of the game, finish games, make all the big plays.
“… He wasn’t feeling well tonight. I don’t think a lot of people understand that.”
Once again, Reaves has proved he’s not only arguably the Lakers’ third-most important player but that he’s also someone who will raise his game in big moments.
