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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.
45, nine and eight going into the night
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 completed the assignment in full: 43 points, 11 of 11 free throws, one turnover and 36:41 on the floor.
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.
Notably, 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.
Kessler pushed back on the luck talk: with Doncic on the floor Reaves takes a secondary role, and 43 points made the case that it is a choice, not a ceiling.
From plus-26 to a five-point scare
On the night Los Angeles never lost the lead: a 26-point peak, 97 percent lead time and zero lead changes.
The Pistons drew within five at 109-104 in the last minute, forcing the ball to Reaves with the shot clock running out.
The dagger was not designed: a flipped-up, one-legged three from Reaves that he described afterward as a lucky attempt that simply fell.
In the wider picture, 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.
The Pistons outshot Los Angeles from the arc, 19 makes to 11, and still spent the entire evening behind.
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.
Ziaire Williams scored 17 points on 4-of-8 from three and Collin Sexton added 17 on 7-of-8 free throws, two more names beside Reaves, Kessler and Grimes in double figures.
In addition, Cunningham's night was crowded out: 14 points on 6-of-15 shooting, eight assists, four turnovers and a minus-15 rating.
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.
Detroit owned eight offensive rebounds from Reed and 11 from Thompson and still lost the glass by a single board.
Editor's take: Detroit's 48 three-point attempts are the more interesting number than its 19 makes; the shots exist, the lead does not.
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