For a vital chunk of Friday evening at Crypto.com Arena, it seemed like ghosts of the Lakers’ previous – in the kind of Clippers ahead Rui Hachimura and heart Brook Lopez – were going to be the causes for their first loss.
Especially with their celebrity guard Luka Doncic struggling to discover an offensive rhythm.
But fellow star guard Austin Reaves confirmed why the franchise invested the huge bucks in him over the summer time, offering his team with a spark en route to a 125-117 victory to put the Lakers at 2-0 early in the season.
Los Angeles Lakers’ Austin Reaves drives to the basket during a recreation against the LA Clippers at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Friday, Oct. 23, 2026. NBAE via Getty Images
With the recreation tied at 64 at halftime, and the Lakers struggling to create separation, taking a small 73-72 lead early in the third, Reaves took issues into his own fingers, sparking a 16-4 run that was the distinction in the recreation.
The run began with Reaves changing a powerful, bodily layup over Isaiah Jackson before helping Walker Kessler for an alley-oop dunk and Matisse Thybulle on a nook 3-pointer.
From there, Reaves took over, scoring the recreation’s next 9 factors to put the Lakers up 89-76 after a pull-up 3 for the team’s largest lead of the recreation at the time.
Reaves scored 13 factors in the third, in addition to 3 assists, for practically half of his scoring complete (28 factors).
The Lakers practically squandered Reaves’ run, permitting the Clippers to reduce their lead to 120-113 late in the fourthm but they never relinquished the lead.
Kessler had 22 factors, 8 rebounds, 6 blocked pictures, 3 steals and 3 steals.
Walker Kessler, Luka Doncic, and Austin Reaves of the Los Angeles Lakers high-five during a recreation against the LA Clippers at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Friday, October 23, 2026. NBAE via Getty Images
Austin Reaves of the Los Angeles Lakers shoots a 3-point basket during a recreation against the LA Clippers at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Friday, Oct. 23, 2026. NBAE via Getty Images
Doncic completed with 23 factors (8-of-21 taking pictures), 7 assists, and 6 rebounds.
Reaves was once again ultra-efficient, taking pictures 10 of 13 from the area (3 of 5 on 3s, 5 of 6 on free throws) to go with 9 assists for the recreation.
Lopez had 22 factors and 4 rebounds off the bench, while Hachimura had 16 factors and 6 rebounds against his former team.
Darius Garland led the Clippers with 26 factors and 6 assists.
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