Milwaukee's 1-9 start is its worst since 1993-94
Paul George scored 27 points and Jayson Tatum added 21 as the Celtics beat the Bucks 117-97 on Sunday at Fiserv Forum, leaving Milwaukee 1-9
Lakers lead by 26, never trail and win without Doncic
内容摘要：Playing without Luka Doncic, who averaged 45 points in the previous four wins, Austin Reaves answered with 43 and a one-legged three to close the game
The picture is an AI-generated illustration, not a photograph from the match
Reaves called himself a lucky basketball player after scoring 43 against a Pistons team with one of the better defenses in the league. Walker Kessler, who had 12 points and 16 rebounds, disagreed: the Lakers win whether the night belongs to Doncic or to him.
Filling in for the league's hottest player
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.
Reaves played two seasons at Wichita State and one at Oklahoma before declaring for the 2021 draft, where the Pistons planned to take him 42nd; he declined so he could sign as a free agent with the Lakers, and Detroit moved on to Isaiah Livers, who played 130 NBA games and now plays in Japan.
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.
109-104 and a terrible shot that stayed up
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.
The dagger was not designed: a flipped-up, one-legged three from Reaves that he described afterward as a lucky attempt that simply fell.
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.
Notably, Detroit's answer came from elsewhere: Jenkins with 31 points on eight made threes, Huerter with 24 and five blocks, neither enough to change who held the lead.
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.
Paul Reed had 10 rebounds with eight of them offensive and Ausar Thompson pulled 11 boards, yet Detroit finished one rebound behind.
In the wider picture, the Lakers improved to 9-2 and travelled to Atlanta for the Monday-night game that followed, while the Pistons dropped to 6-3 and hosted Washington the same evening.
Editor's take: Winning through absences is how a 9-2 team keeps climbing; Los Angeles found one answer on Sunday and it scored 43.
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