The picture is an AI-generated illustration, not a photograph from the match
Luka Doncic sat this one out after averaging 45 points, nine rebounds and eight assists in a four-game winning run, and the Lakers needed someone else: Reaves gave them 43 points, five rebounds and four assists in 36 minutes at Little Caesars Arena.
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 finished with 43 points on 14-of-27 shooting, 4-of-6 from three and a perfect 11-of-11 from the free-throw line, adding five rebounds, four assists and one turnover in 36 minutes.
He came into the game averaging 23.0 points during that stretch, so the request was not a miracle, only that the second option become the first for one night.
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.
The night carried a Detroit subplot: the Pistons held the 42nd pick with a plan for Reaves in 2021, he turned it down to join Los Angeles as a free agent, and Detroit drafted Isaiah Livers instead.
From plus-26 to a five-point scare
The Lakers led by as many as 26 points in the second quarter, held the advantage for 97 percent of the game and never trailed, with no lead changes recorded.
The Pistons drew within five at 109-104 in the last minute, forcing the ball to Reaves with the shot clock running out.
Reaves rose for a one-legged, off-balance three that went in, then called it a terrible shot that looked like one of the ridiculous attempts Doncic makes.
Notably, Daniss Jenkins scored 31 points off the bench on 8-of-15 three-point shooting with five rebounds and four assists, and Kevin Huerter added 24 points and five blocks.
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.
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.
Beyond that, two 17-point nights from Williams and Sexton, both arriving off the bench, were the next scoring lines after Reaves' 43.
Cade Cunningham finished with 14 points on 6-of-15 shooting, eight assists and four turnovers for a minus-15 rating.
Detroit owned eight offensive rebounds from Reed and 11 from Thompson and still lost the glass by a single board.
In the wider picture, 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.
Editor's take: Jenkins' 31 points on eight made threes off the bench is the kind of night that reopens a rotation conversation.
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