Austin Reaves had a season-best 43 points as the Los Angeles Lakers, minus star Luka Doncic, built a hefty early lead, then held off the host Detroit Pistons, to win their fifth straight, 121-116 on Sunday night.
With Doncic, averaging 40.1 points, sitting with low back tightness, reserves Ziaire Williams and Collin Sexton each scored 17 while Walker Kessler added 12 and 16 rebounds for the Lakers, who hit half of their 84 shots to improve to 9-2. Reaves went 14-of-27 from the field and made all 11 free-throw attempts.
Daniss Jenkins had a career-high 31 points and fellow reserve Kevin Huerter added 24 for the Pistons, who lost back-to-back games for the first time this season. Cade Cunningham had 14 points and Duncan Robinson scored 12, but neither made a field goal in the first half for Detroit, which rallied by going 19-of-48 from 3-point range.
Los Angeles led 40-14 early in the second quarter, 61-48 at halftime and 88-81 entering the fourth, but Detroit got within one point three times in the final period. However, Reaves dished to Williams, who canned a 3-pointer to give the Lakers a 100-96 edge and they went on to the win.
A banked 3-pointer from Reaves with 6:41 left in the third quarter put the Lakers up 78-61. However, Detroit worked its way back, and used an 11-0 surge in the final 2:04 of the third, highlighted by three baskets off three on consecutive Lakers turnovers, to get within 84-81. Huerter scored the final four points of that run, then the Pistons trailed by seven entering the fourth following four straight points by Sexton.
The Lakers started hot, shooting 16-of-23 from the field and riding runs of 10-0 and 9-0 to lead 38-14 after one quarter. Quentin Grimes (12 points) scored 10 of those Los Angeles points.
The Pistons, meanwhile, went 6-of-22 from the field and committed eight turnovers in the first period.
A Kessler basket at the start of the second quarter gave the Lakers that 26-point advantage, but Detroit showed life with a 3-pointer from Jenkins and two of the same from Huerter to fill a 9-2 surge. Jenkins went 7-of-9 from the field, and 6-of-7 from beyond the arc in the first half as the Pistons, who made nine 3-pointers during the second period, clawed back to get within 13 at halftime.
