Austin Reaves Leads Lakers Past Pacers as NBA Fans Eye Luka-LeBron Debut vs. Jazz

Posted by author February 9, 2025 NBA

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Despite dealing with injuries to multiple star players, the Los Angeles Lakers still defeated the Indiana Pacers by the final score of 124-117 at Crypto.com Arena on Saturday.

Indiana cut the Lakers’ lead to just five points with roughly one minute remaining in the fourth quarter, but a lob from Shake Milton to Rui Hachimura helped seal the win.

NBA @NBA

Rui Hachimura throws down the exclamation point on the Lakers’ 5th straight victory!
That’s 11 wins in 13 games for LA 👀 pic.twitter.com/EikC29eM8d

Los Angeles emerged victorious due to the heroics of Austin Reaves, who scored a career-high 45 points. Reaves shot 14-26 from the field, hitting four of his nine attempts from behind the arc.

He also racked up seven assists, seven rebounds and three steals.

The short-handed Lakers were without LeBron James and Luka Dončić due to ankle and calf issues, respectively. Both players are expected to suit up against the Utah Jazz on Monday, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.

Los Angeles was still able to secure an impressive win over a Pacers team that won 13 of their previous 16 games entering Saturday’s matchup.

Fans were impressed with the win while looking forward to the pairing of James and Dončić.

Lakers Empire @LakersEmpire

How are teams gonna be able to guard LeBron, Luka and Reaves??? Also Mark Williams as your center lolol

Drew Velez @haaaaandrew

The next time we watch Lakers basketball, Luka Doncic and LeBron James will share the court as teammates.

Esfandiar Baraheni @JustEsBaraheni

Pretty pumped to watch Luka and Reaves play together
If LeBron/Reaves was any indication it should be seamless

Anthony F. Irwin @AnthonyIrwinLA

Reaves as the swing-swing decision maker is going to wreck defenses when he’s out there with LeBron and Luka https://t.co/8cNiHdPmz8

Uncle Stan @UncleStanBoogie

Can’t wait to see Luka and Lebron finally get on the court together…

Justin 🐺 @Justin123la

LFG. Lakers W💜💛 No LeBron or Luka. #LakeShow can’t wait for Monday

Omar Garibay @Omargaribay8

LeBron, Luka and Reaves + shooting, size and athleticism…
The Lakers have themselves a squad
👀🔥 #LakeShow

Hachimura also made his presence felt, finishing with 24 points and nine rebounds on 61.5/66.7/100 shooting splits.

Meanwhile, Jaxson Hayes pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds and recorded two blocks.

Pacers star Pascal Siakam struggled with his efficiency throughout the contest, scoring 23 points on 6-15 shooting. He also missed both of his three-point attempts.

As the Lakers prepare to debut the duo of James and Dončić, they improved to 31-19 with their victory over the Pacers.