Austin Reaves dropped a career-high 51 points to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a 127-120 win over the Sacramento Kings.
SACRAMENTO – No Luka. No LeBron. No problem for Austin Reaves and the Lakers, who defeated the Kings 127-120 behind a career-high 51 points from Reaves.
As the final buzzer sounded, Reaves was mobbed by his teammates after finishing one assist shy of a triple-double – posting 51 points, 11 rebounds, nine assists and two steals in 39 minutes – and becoming only the fourth undrafted player to score 50 points in an NBA game.
The only thing that could cool him down? A locker room shower from his teammates as he entered the visiting locker room at Golden 1 Center after a tour de force for the purple and gold.
As Reaves dries off and the Lakers head back to L.A. for a game with the Blazers in less than 24 hours, here are four takeaways from Sunday night.
1. Reaves takes the spotlight
Entering Sunday’s game, Reaves had scored a total of 51 points through the Lakers’ first two games – an impressive 25.5 ppg average that ranked 21st in the NBA.
He matched that total on Sunday while serving as the fulcrum of the Lakers’ offense – a role usually held by Luka Dončić, who is expected to miss at least a week with a finger sprain and leg contusion – and heads back to L.A. with a 34.0 ppg average, tying him for third in the NBA.
“This is a small-town kid from Arkansas who went undrafted, who last year averaged 20 ball in the NBA, and just had a 50 ball,” said Lakers coach JJ Redick. “These moments are incredible for him. I think his teammates see that; as a coaching staff, we see that. He just lives in the moment and he’s ready for every single moment that comes.”
Reaves admittedly got off to a slow start – he was scoreless with two missed 3-pointers and a turnover before drawing a foul on a 3-point attempt to earn his first free throws midway through the first quarter.
Those three free throws opened the floodgates for Reaves, who carved up the Kings’ defense all night – utilizing the pick-and-roll with Ayton and creating shots for himself and his teammates, while drawing a lot of fouls.
Reaves finished the night with six 2-point shots and six 3-point shots – including three huge triples in the fourth quarter as the Lakers held off the home team – and a whopping 21 free throws.
For good measure, he added 11 boards and nine assists – creating another 18 points for the Lakers – in what could be seen as a Dončić impression. For the Lakers, they’ll need more of this with Dončić sidelined for at least a week and the loss of Gabe Vincent, who exited the game in the third quarter on Sunday and left the arena in a walking boot.
2. Reaves gets last word in trash talk with Dončić
Reaves’ first 50-ball came two nights after Dončić finished L.A.’s win over Minnesota stuck on 49 – missing a free throw that would have given him 50 before exiting for good.
Reaves was sitting on 49 points when he got fouled with 23 seconds left, giving him two chances for his first 50-point game.
“I’m not gonna lie, I went to the free throw line thinking ‘I better not miss,’” he said.
Reaves sank both to not only give him 51, but something to hold over Dončić.
“Our whole relationship is just talking trash back and forth,” said Reaves after the game. “Towards the end of the conversation [today], he was like, ‘I need 60.’ And I was like, ‘[laughs] and that was the end of the conversation.”
Reaves may not hit the 60 that Dončić requested, but the 51 he dropped was enough to get the job done on Sunday. Dončić and James did not make the trip up north to witness Reaves’ career night, but LeBron let everyone know about it on social.
50 piece 🐔 nugget!!!!! That boy AR TOOOO TOUGH!!
— LeBron James (@KingJames) October 27, 2025
3. 22 is the magic number
Reaves may wear No. 15, but Sunday night was all about the No. 22.
He attempted 22 shots – making 12.
He attempted 22 free throws – making 21.
He ended the game +22 in plus/minus – the top mark of any player on the court.
“On a night you don’t have Luka, you don’t have Bron, you don’t have Jaxson [Hayes], you know you’ve got to go out there and be big for the team,” said Reaves. “It wasn’t in my head thinking you’ve got to score 50; it was, ‘Do whatever you can do to help the team win,’ and we played — not just myself but everybody — we played a hell of a game.”
Reaves finished with a 34.3% usage rate – the second-highest mark of his career – as he played the role of scorer, playmaker and superstar on Sunday.
4. Ayton wins center battle with Sabonis
Reaves wasn’t the only player who had his best game as a Laker. Deandre Ayton finished with 22 points and 15 rebounds – including five offensive boards – as he outdueled three-time All-Star Domantas Sabonis, who finished with 10 points and 14 rebounds in 31 minutes as he battled foul trouble.
“He just keeps getting better every single day that he’s with this group,” said Redick of Ayton. “I thought the pick-and-roll stuff was really good tonight. His pocket decision-making was really good. Love seeing him get 15 rebounds, but I think offensively that was his best night.”
“DA played like a monster tonight, and that’s what we need from him every single night,” added Reaves.
No play summed up Ayton’s night better than his last bucket. He got the pass from Reaves on the pick-and-roll, pulled up from just inside the foul line and missed, but followed his shot, tipped the rebound away from Sabonis and back to himself for a putback slam followed by a scream with the Lakers up by eight.
“That’s what we need; we encourage him every single day to be that,” said Reaves of that play by Ayton. “In the Minnesota game, he got a pocket pass and he went to try to dunk it and missed it. We ended up getting an offensive rebound for an and-1, but me and Luka went straight to DA and were like, ‘That’s what we need.’ We don’t care if you make it or miss it at this point — go do that — because more times than not you’re gonna make it or you’re gonna get fouled. We need that from him.”
Sabonis picked up his third foul with 4:22 left in the second quarter, which sent him to the bench for the rest of the half and further emphasized Sacramento’s lack of frontcourt depth. Foul trouble is nothing new for Sabonis, who led the NBA with six disqualifications for fouling out last season.
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Brian Martin has covered the NBA and WNBA for more than 15 years. You can e-mail him here and follow him on X.
