The Lakers dominated the Nets to finish out their eight-game road trip, with Reaves coming off the bench in the winning effort. Head coach JJ Redick noted Reaves would be on a minutes restriction in his return, but the guard was still effective in his 21 minutes of game time.

Reaves finished the night with 15 points, four rebound, one assists and two steals in his first game back. While his jumper was off the mark, the guard still found his way to the free throw line where he drained eight out of his 10 attempts.

Following the win, Reaves acknowledged it was good to be back on the floor because he was getting restless watching from the sidelines, as seen in an interview with Mike Trudell of Spectrum SportsNet:

“Felt good. It was good to be back out here. I’ve been pretty bored for a month now, so it’s good to be back.”

Reaves also detailed the ups and downs of rehabbing his calf injury but reiterated how much he enjoyed being back on the floor:

“It was just trying to do the right things every day. Even though it’s frustrating just trusting the process of what you’re doing cause one day you might feel good and the next you might not. Wish I was back a little sooner, but like I said it’s good to be back. It’s miserable when I’m not playing, I’m pretty bored.”

The Lakers ensured that Reaves was 100 percent healthy before he was available to make his return and that patience paid off as he physically looked like himself. The speed, burst and quickness were on full display though it’s understandable that his jumper wasn’t as effective as he gets his legs back underneath him.

Overall, it was an encouraging performance from Reaves who should slot right back in as one of the team’s top offensive options. Once he has got his rhythm and conditioning back, the Lakers offense should see an uptick in production and efficiency.

Tyrese Haliburton wants to learn on aspect of Austin Reaves’ game

Calf injuries became a major cause for concern after superstars like Tyrese Haliburton tore their Achilles in the 2025 NBA Playoffs. Haliburton has been diligently rehabbing but in the meantime has been studying other players’ games.

For example, Haliburton said he’s been watching film of Austin Reaves to so he can get better at drawing contact and getting to the free throw line.

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Los Angeles has clearly established themselves as a playoff team, even in a loaded Western Conference, but there’s a clear gap between them and the true title contenders this season. The Lakers boast enough star power in the form of Luka Doncic, LeBron James and Austin Reaves but need a better supporting cast to prop up their championship odds.

The roster is in desperate need of more defense, shooting and size across each position but the team is limited in attractive young players and assets that opposing teams covet. Still, Los Angeles needs to scour the market for any serviceable upgrade if they hope to advance deep into the postseason.

One name that could be available is Brooklyn Nets big man Day’Ron Sharpe, whom the Lakers just played on Tuesday. According to Dan Woike of The Athletic, Sharpe has advocates in the purple and gold locker room:

Sources inside the Lakers locker room are fans of Brooklyn center Day’Ron Sharpe, who had 19 points and 14 rebounds in the Nets’ loss to the Lakers on Tuesday night.

Sharpe is represented by the same agency that represents Jake LaRavia and Reaves, so they are naturally the first two names that come to mind when it comes to the locker room’s reported interest. However, there is plenty to like about Sharpe as he’s an energetic big that can rebound and finish near the rim.

Deandre Ayton and Jaxson Hayes have formed a solid center tandem throughout the 2025-26 season, though the former has seen a downtick in production as of late. Injuries are always a concern for L.A. as well, so adding a third big in Sharpe is far from a bad idea.

However, the Lakers don’t have much in terms of future tradable draft capital so executing a deal for someone like Sharpe could prove to be difficult. The lack of attractive assets could wind up being what results in a quiet trade deadline for Los Angeles.

Lakers would become viable threat to trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo this summer

Los Angeles appears to be positioning themselves to make a big move in the summer when they’ll have access to more tradable first round picks and ample cap space. Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo is considered the big prize of the trade deadline but if he isn’t moved, then the Lakers would become a viable threat to trade for him in the summer.

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Fortunately for the purple and gold, Brooklyn offered a soft landing zone for their final road game of trip as they have struggled to win games during the 2025-26 season. The Nets are at the start of a multi-year rebuild, so the roster is full of young and inexperienced players that have no business being able to hang with a star and veteran-laden roster like the Lakers’.

L.A. wasted no time establishing their dominance against Brooklyn as they exploded offensively out of the gate and never looked back. It took just one quarter for the Lakers to build a large lead and when halftime rolled around they were already ahead by 29 points.

The second half was almost a mirror of the first as Los Angeles continued to torch the Brooklyn defense for wide-open 3-pointers and shots at the rim. The Lakers had no problems scoring the entire night and they went home with a 125-109 victory.

LeBron James gets cheered wherever he goes and with his retirement coming sooner than later, the crowd in Brooklyn made sure to give him his flowers almost every time he made a play. James gave Barclays Center plenty to cheer for as he routinely got loose for transition dunks and layups.

James had no problem carving up the Nets defense and he ended up leading the team in scoring with 25 points. He also had seven assists, three rebounds and three steals in just 30 minutes.

Like James, Luka Doncic was a maestro running the offense as he continuously found open looks and teammates. Doncic looked like he was on auto-pilot, controlling each possession and finding the best possible shot for L.A.

Doncic played 29 minutes and managed to record 24 points, six rebounds and five assists.

Lastly, Austin Reaves made his awaited return to the lineup and he didn’t disappoint as he looked as spry as ever. Reaves got the nod to start the second half and didn’t show much rust other than in his jumper.

Reaves had 15 points, four rebounds, one assist and two steals in 21 minutes of action.

What’s next for the Lakers

The Lakers finally return home and host their first home game in weeks against the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday. They’ll then take on the Golden State Warriors on Saturday.

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The Lakers got Austin Reaves back after missing a month and a half due to a calf injury, although he came off the bench and was on a minutes restriction. Regardless, the Lakers were able to easily take care of business, beating the Nets 125-109 to improve to 30-19 on the season.

L.A. got off to a nice start in this one as Luka Doncic, LeBron James and Jake LaRavia were all locked in front the jump, turning defense into easy offense. After a couple of step-back triples by Doncic, the Nets needed a timeout as the Lakers led 26-11.

Everything was going right for the Lakers in the first quarter as Doncic was unconscious and they were moving the ball well. Reaves then entered an immediately got fouled to end the quarter, giving the Lakers a 45-23 lead.

Not much changed in the second quarter as the Lakers continued to pour it on. After missing his first two shots, Reaves made two in a row as he began to regain his rhythm. He then threw an alley-oop off the backboard to James, who threw down another monster dunk in transition to get the crowd on their feet.

After leading by as many as 38 though, the Lakers let go of the rope a bit to end the half and went into the locker room with a 69-40 lead.

Reaves looked so good in the first half that JJ Redick put him out there with the starters to begin the third quarter in place of LaRavia. Considering Reaves was on a minutes restriction though, part of the reason for him joining the starting group was for him to get his minutes in before the fourth quarter since the game was a blowout from start to finish.

Similar to the second quarter, the Lakers had a poor close to the third but still took a 100-74 lead into the fourth.

L.A. quickly got the lead back to 30 at the start of the fourth quarter, allowing them to empty the bench and cruise to the easy win.

What’s next for the Lakers…

After the conclusion of their long road trip, the Lakers will now return home for matchups with the Philadelphia 76ers, Golden State Warriors, Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs and Dallas Mavericks leading up to the All-Star break.

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Reaves has been out since Christmas Day, missing the last 19 games as he has recovered from this injury. He has been dealing with the calf issue since the middle of December, initially missing three games before attempting to return. That return didn’t last long, however, with Reaves being shut down in just his second game back and he has yet to suit up since.

Calf injuries are extremely concerning and have led to other, more significant injuries, particularly torn Achilles’, which was the case for Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton in the NBA Finals last season. It also happened with Kevin Durant during the 2019 NBA Finals, so the Lakers being extra cautious with Reaves makes complete sense as the last thing the franchise or the guard wants is a catastrophic injury.

Reaves’ return comes on the final game of the Lakers’ eight-game Grammy road trip and the team has the chance to come out with a winning record. They have gone 4-3 on this trip so far and to be able to finish it off with a strong win against a Nets team that has been one of the worst in the league so far would go a long way towards hopefully building some momentum.

For Reaves, this is a chance to begin working his way back to the All-Star form he was playing at before the calf injury derailed things. He is averaging career-highs across the board at 26.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 6.3 assists while also shooting 50.7% from the field and 36.5% from 3-point range.

This will also allow for Reaves, Luka Doncic and LeBron James to begin building chemistry with each other as the trio has played just eight games together this season. Head coach JJ Redick will also be able to figure out his ideal rotations and lineups with a healthy team and come up with the best way to get the most out of this roster.

Reaves will likely be on a minutes restriction, however, as the Lakers will continue to be cautious with him and slowly work him back up to full strength.

Tyrese Haliburton wants to learn how to draw fouls from Lakers’ Austin Reaves

One area where Austin Reaves shines is in his ability to draw fouls as he averages nearly nine free throw attempts per game this season. And Tyrese Haliburton has been watching him and learning from his ability to draw fouls as he rehabs from his torn Achilles.

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