Lakers guard Austin Reaves, who had 32 points on Thursday's win, feels his team has grown in its ability to handle young and feisty teams.

When the Los Angeles Lakers acquired Luka Doncic from the Dallas Mavericks, questions quickly arose about what it meant for Austin Reaves. Reaves had been the Lakers' starting point guard in 2024-25, putting forth a career-year and seemingly taking a step toward stardom.

Coach JJ Redick's Los Angeles Lakers slipped to fifth place in the Western Conference in recent days, in a deadlock with coach Ime Udoka's Houston Rockets, following the recent trade that brought Luka Doncic to the City of Angels.