Austin Reaves scored a career-high 45 points to go along with seven rebounds and seven assists, helping the Los Angeles Lakers post a 124-117 win over the visiting Indiana Pacers on Saturday.
LeBron James sat out the contest with left ankle soreness, giving Reaves a chance to shine for the Lakers. He knocked down 14 of 26 from the field — making four 3-pointers — and hit all 13 of his free-throw attempts.
Rui Hachimura added 24 points and nine boards, while Gabe Vincent had 12 points and Jordan Goodwin chipped in 10 off the bench. Jaxson Hayes finished with nine points and 12 rebounds, as the Lakers won their fifth in a row.
Pascal Siakam scored 23 points, followed by Tyrese Haliburton’s 19 and Bennedict Mathurin’s 16. Obi Toppin scored 14 off the bench for the Pacers, who have dropped two of three.
After trailing by 16 at halftime, the Pacers began the third quarter on a 16-4 run, cutting the Lakers’ lead to 70-66 on Bryant’s layup with 8:04 left in the period.
Dorian Finney-Smith then scored five of Los Angeles’ next seven points to extend the Lakers’ edge to nine. Leading 77-70, the Lakers pushed their lead to 15 after Jarred Vanderbilt and Reaves scored four points apiece during an 8-0 Los Angeles spurt.
Reaves’ three-point play gave the Lakers a 92-74 lead, before Indiana’s 10-2 run to end the third quarter.
Reaves’ hot shooting continued into the fourth, as his two triples gave Los Angeles a 100-88 lead with 10:35 remaining. Goodwin’s three-point play later extended the Lakers’ advantage to 18 with 6:23 to go.
Goodwin banked in a 3-pointer to put the Lakers ahead 120-107 with 2:26 left, but Siakam scored five points of Indiana’s 8-0 spurt to cut the Pacers’ deficit to five with 1:10 remaining. Hachimura’s dunk with 19.5 seconds remaining iced the win.
After Toppin’s 3-pointer trimmed Indiana’s deficit to 19-12 at the 7:51 mark of the first quarter, Finney-Smith’s layup and Reaves’ 3-pointer began a 13-0 Los Angeles run that extended the Lakers’ lead to 32-12.
Toppin’s free throw snapped a nearly six-minute scoreless streak, but the Lakers’ lead ballooned to 23 on Vincent’s triple with 1:40 left in the opening quarter. Los Angeles entered the second quarter with a 44-22 advantage.
Four straight T.J. McConnell points pulled Indiana with 18, but a 7-0 Lakers’ spurt pushed their lead to 53-28 with 7:12 remaining in the first half.
Trailing by 22, Indiana got back-to-back 3-pointers from Ben Sheppard to trim its deficit to 64-48. The Lakers led 66-50 entering the second half.
–Field Level Media
