Celtics take both games in five nights, 117-97 at Fiserv Forum
Kyle Kuzma scored 14 points in the first five minutes, Boston answered with an 18-0 run and won 117-97; Milwaukee's start is its worst since 1993-94
Reaves is 11-of-11 from the line in a 121-116 win
内容摘要：The Lakers led by 26 points and held on for a 121-116 win at Little Caesars Arena, with Walker Kessler adding 12 points and 16 rebounds to Reaves' night
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The Lakers were missing the league's hottest player on Sunday night, so Austin Reaves answered with 43 points on 14-of-27 shooting, all 11 free throws and a one-legged three with the shot clock dying to finish a 121-116 win over Detroit.
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.
A 23.0-point average over the previous four games said Reaves was already carrying more; against Detroit he simply took the shots as well.
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.
A lead the Pistons never held
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.
Reaves rose for a one-legged, off-balance three that went in, then called it a terrible shot that looked like one of the ridiculous attempts Doncic makes.
Notably, Daniss Jenkins scored 31 points off the bench on 8-of-15 three-point shooting with five rebounds and four assists, and Kevin Huerter added 24 points and five blocks.
The Pistons outshot Los Angeles from the arc, 19 makes to 11, and still spent the entire evening behind.
The rest of the line
Kessler collected seven offensive rebounds among his 16 boards and blocked three shots, while Jarred Vanderbilt grabbed 10 rebounds in 14 minutes.
Beyond that, two 17-point nights from Williams and Sexton, both arriving off the bench, were the next scoring lines after Reaves' 43.
Cade Cunningham finished with 14 points on 6-of-15 shooting, eight assists and four turnovers for a minus-15 rating.
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.
Paul Reed had 10 rebounds with eight of them offensive and Ausar Thompson pulled 11 boards, yet Detroit finished one rebound behind.
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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