Austin Reaves, Los Angeles Lakers’ young shooting guard, delivered his second career-best performance against the Suns on Thursday.
The LA Lakers registered a crucial win over the Phoenix Suns on Thursday. Both teams lacked the services of their key players, LeBron James and Kevin Durant. However, the young guns took charge and helped the Lakers edge past for a cruising win. With this, the purple and gold move to 10th place in the Western Conference points table, still far away from playoffs.
Regardless, the game brought lots of positives for the Lakers. First and foremost, those extra points on the table put them in a better position for the playoff race. Further, the team put up a collective performance and remained less dependent on a single shooter alone. On top of that, Anthony Davis and D’Angelo Russel found their lost form at the right time. However, it was the 24-year-old shooting guard who completely stole the show.
Austin Reaves Channels His Inner Michael Jordan, Applauded By Fans For Thumping Performance
Lakers shooting guard Austin Reaves has been making waves in the basketball world with his exceptional play this season. The shooter filled in LeBron James‘ shoes and recorded his career-best figures (35 points) against the Orlando Magic. As a result, he was promoted as a starter in the following matchup against the Phoenix Suns. The Newark native kept alive the momentum with aggressive gameplay and clubbed 25 points with career-best assists of 11.
Austin Reaves magnificently managed to get 13 free throw attempts, out of which he missed just one. Meanwhile, the fans found back their lost voice and erupted in joy. The MVP chants from the last game perpetuated at the Crypto Arena. As a result, on social media, some fans even compared Reaves’ aggressive play to that of legend Michael Jordan. While these comparisons may seem premature, there is no denying that Reaves has been playing at an incredibly high level and has the potential to be a superstar in the league. Moreover, he will play a crucial role for the Lakers in their playoff pursuit.
Suns’ Coach Calls Out Match Officials Over Free Throws Controversy
Meanwhile, Phoenix Suns’ head coach, Monty Williams, could not digest the loss and came out all guns blazing in the post-match press conference. He alleged that the Suns’ were unfairly treated during the whole course of the game. As per Williams, the Lakers were unlawfully awarded 46 free throw attempts, whereas the Suns received only 20. He further claimed that it’s not possible for an aggressive team like the Lakers to get more free throws than the opposition.
While the claims seem to have come out of sheer frustration, the officiating in this NBA season has been below standard, to be honest. The bizarre no-call decisions made headlines throughout the tournament. Nonetheless, the Los Angeles Lakers can enjoy the sweet victory but cannot sit back and relax as the job is far from done. They still have nine games in hand to qualify for the playoffs and must ensure that they win almost every game from hereon.
