How Lakers’ Austin Reaves ruined Luka Doncic’s Mavericks plan

The Los Angeles Lakers kept from Dallas Mavericks‘ comeback attempt on Friday night in LA, winning 129-119. One of the primary storylines going into the game was Anthony Davis’ return from injuryas it was his first contest in Los Angeles since being traded last year. Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves however, he quickly stole the headlines.

The Mavs were clearly focused on containing Doncic. Jason Kidd wanted to keep him under control. Maybe Dallas felt they could win by limiting Luke. The Mavericks consistently doubled Doncic throughout the game, and it worked for the first few minutes of the contest.

In Luka Dončić fashionhowever, he eventually broke through and had a big game. However, the Mavericks initially had someone else beat them, and Reaves rose to the challenge.

Reaves ended up leading all scorers with 38 points on an incredibly efficient 12-15 field goal. He also hit six of his eight three-point attempts. Doncic, meanwhile, went 10-18 on field goal attempts and made four 3-pointers.

Without Reaves, Doncic might not have played as well as he did.

Austin Reaves changed everything for the Lakers against the Mavericks

LeBron James is not the same player he used to be. LA has respectable depth, but if Reaves hadn’t played at an elite level, Doncic’s Mavs plan may have worked.

It wouldn’t be shocking if Dallas put extra pressure on Doncic throughout the affair if no one else stepped up in the Lakers’ offense. Not only did Reeves take care of business out of the arc, but he was aggressive in his driving and was able to go downhill well.

Reaves’ aggressive mindset forced the Mavericks to focus on him as well, leading to better scoring opportunities for Doncic. The result? Luka and Austin combined for 73 points.

It’s hard to blame the Mavericks. Their defensive approach was not bad, but the execution was lacking. Dallas’ offense has struggled all season, but the team shot 48.4 percent from the field and 43.8 percent from deep on Friday night. However, winning the game is always going to be difficult when you give away 129 points, especially when two players combine for 73 alone.

Austin Reaves spoiled the Mavericks’ plan, and now Dallas is 5-15 overall this season, while LA improved to 14-4.