Austin Reeves scored 51 points and the Los Angeles Lakers won against Sacramento without Luka Doncic and LeBron James.
Published October 27, 2025
Austin Reeves exploded for a career-high 51 points, Deandre Ayton supplemented his 22 points with a game-high 15 rebounds, and the Los Angeles Lakers, playing without injured stars Luka Doncic and LeBron James, defeated the host Sacramento Kings 127-120 on Sunday night.
Reeves, who took center stage after Doncic suffered a finger and leg injury late in the game, surpassed his NBA-best 45 points against the Indiana Pacers last February.
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He also had 11 rebounds and nine assists, but missed out on what would have been his fourth career triple-double by one assist.
Reaves made six 3-pointers, including three during a run in the fourth quarter that allowed the Lakers to turn a four-point deficit into an 11-point lead.
The Lakers, looking for their second straight win after losing to Golden State in the season opener, fell behind 101-97 on Domantas Sabonis’ 3-pointer with 9:50 remaining, but scored 20 of the next 25 points to extend their lead to 117-106 at the 4:18 mark.
Reaves sparked the rebellion with back-to-back 3-pointers and added a third following Ayton’s hoop to complete an 11-0 burst and create a 108-101 lead.
Two hoops by Rui Hachimura, another by Ayton, and a 3-pointer by Jake LaRavia ended a wild game, but the Kings created a deficit from which they could never fully recover.
Zach LaVine’s 3-pointer with 1:30 left brought the hosts within 122-119, but Reeves kept the Kings at arm’s length with four late free throws, making 21 of 22.
The Lakers had 28 more chances and outscored the Kings 41-12 from the stripe.
Hachimura finished with 18 points, while LaRavia and Marcus Smart each added 11 points for the Lakers, who played their third straight game without James due to a back problem.
LaVine paced Sacramento with 32 points, while Sabonis (10 points, 14 rebounds) and Dennis Schroder (18 points, 12 assists) had double-doubles.
DeMar DeRozan scored 21 points, Russell Westbrook added 18 points, and Malik Monk added 15 points for the Kings, who lost despite outscoring the visitors 54-24.
Wembaneyama and Davis dominate in Texas
In Sunday’s other games, Victor Wembaneyama totaled 31 points and 14 rebounds, and was key to a late victory as host San Antonio defeated Brooklyn 118-107 to remain undefeated.
Anthony Davis had 25 points and 10 rebounds to lead Dallas to its first win of the new NBA season with a 139-129 victory over visiting Toronto.
Los Angeles defeated Portland 114-107 for the second time in two home games as Kawhi Leonard had 30 points and 10 rebounds and Ivica Zubac added 21 points with eight boards.
Cade Cunningham had 25 points and eight assists as Detroit defeated Boston 119-113 in its home opener.
Norman Powell scored 29 points and Miami defeated the New York Knicks 115-107 in its home opener.
Donovan Mitchell scored 10 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter and Evan Mobley had 23 points, eight rebounds and six assists as Cleveland won its home opener against Milwaukee 118-113.
LaMelo Ball scored 38 points as part of a triple-double and Charlotte rode a strong second half to a 139-113 road victory over Washington.
Julius Randle scored 31 points and Minnesota overcame the early exit of injured star Anthony Edwards to beat winless Indiana 114-110 in Minneapolis.
