The Los Angeles Lakers got back into the win column on Sunday after losing three of their last four games with a victory over the Orlando Magic. However, they didn’t look impressive.
Los Angeles fell behind early. Although it went ahead by double digits in the second quarter, it was unable to capitalize on that advantage. Instead, it allowed Orlando to chip away and make the game very competitive throughout the fourth quarter.
Luckily, for the Lakers, Austin Reaves had the game of his life.
He helped give them their initial lead in the first half, and down the stretch, as the Magic threatened to hand L.A. its third straight loss, he powered his team and got it a 111-105 win.
The win put the Lakers back into 10th place in the Western Conference while bringing them to within 1.5 games of the sixth-place Dallas Mavericks. They will face a stiff challenge on Wednesday when the Phoenix Suns, sans Kevin Durant, come to town.
Anthony Davis: C-plus/B-minus
After playing absolutely dominant ball for much of his first 24 games of the season and a good part of February and early March, Davis has lost steam.
He scored just 15 points on 6-of-15 shooting, and he continued to struggle from the charity stripe by going 3-of-6 on free throws. It was the third time in his last five games he failed to reach the 20-point mark.
Unlike in the last few games, he wasn’t facing constant double teams with or without the ball. However, the Magic forced some turnovers against Davis both on passes to him and when he looked to take his defender off the dribble. He finished the game with five turnovers, which was one-third of L.A.’s total.
Still, the Lakers’ superstar big man had 11 rebounds, and he made an impact defensively with four blocked shots and two steals, which shows his value to the team even when he isn’t playing up to his standards offensively.
Jarred Vanderbilt: B
Vanderbilt took on the task of guarding Paolo Banchero, and through three quarters, he didn’t do a good job. Banchero shot 7-of-15. However, the Magic rookie shot just 1-of-5 in the decisive fourth quarter.
On the boards, Vanderbilt did an excellent job with 10 rebounds, and he added two assists in 23 minutes. He scored just one point and made his only shot attempt, but his value to the Lakers isn’t really predicated on how many points he scores.
Troy Brown Jr.: A
Brown has been on point with his outside shooting for the last couple of months. He went 4-of-8 on Sunday, with all of his shot attempts coming from behind the 3-point line, and he finished with 12 points, five rebounds and two assists.
D'Angelo Russell: A
After three poor shooting games in a row, Russell got back on track by going 6-of-12 from the field and 4-of-8 from 3-point range. He finished with 18 points and six assists against just one turnover, and he even blocked two shots as well.
Malik Beasley: D-minus
Beasley, as has been the case often since joining the Lakers, had trouble finding his stroke. He shot 1-of-7 overall and 1-of-5 from beyond the arc, giving him three points, plus three rebounds and one assist in 26 minutes.
With Reaves finishing this game in the fourth quarter, Beasley has to start shooting much better in order to get more playing time.
Rui Hachimura: B
Hachimura’s stat line looked relatively modest: eight points on 4-of-9 shooting, five rebounds, one assist and one blocked shot.
However, the Lakers started going to Hachimura quite a bit late in the third quarter and into the fourth quarter, and he consistently delivered with his efficient mid-range game.
After an up and down first several weeks with the team, perhaps he is finding his grove and niche in L.A.
Wenyen Gabriel: A
Gabriel immediately made an impact defensively and especially on the boards when he came in late in the first quarter. He ended the game with eight rebounds, six points, one assist and one blocked shot in 20 minutes.
The undrafted forward has been with the Lakers for a full calendar year, and although he isn’t a skilled offensive player or defensive stopper, he has carved out a niche with them as an effective hustle and energy player who does the unglamorous dirty work, and he has shown growth in that area over time.
Dennis Schroder: B-minus
Schroder went 3-of-9 overall from the field, but he hit an impressive 3-of-6 from downtown and finished with 12 points, five assists and three rebounds while committing just one turnover.
The German native will be a free agent this summer, and if the Lakers keep him by agreeing with him on a new contract, it would be a pretty big boon for their bench and overall depth.
Austin Reaves: A-plus
Simply put, Reaves was the MVP of this game, and he carried the Lakers throughout.
Reaves sparked a Lakers run when he entered the game with 5:08 left in the first quarter by scoring nine points and adding three assists during his first-half stint. They were down by seven when he entered, but they had forged ahead, 47-34, when he went to the bench in the second quarter.
Orlando then went on a 12-0 run, but Reaves re-entered the game with 4:50 left in the second quarter and helped L.A. finish the half with a 59-49 lead.
In crunch time, Orlando was right on the Lakers’ heels, but Reaves scored 13 points in the final period, with many of them coming at the free throw line.
The undrafted wing finished with a career-high 35 points on 9-of-14 shooting and a monster 16-of-18 from the free throw line while adding six rebounds and six assists.
After the game, Reaves’ teammates gave him a celebratory bottled water shower.
❌ SPLASH ZONE ❌ pic.twitter.com/2nGwwhVAFc
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) March 20, 2023
