NEW YORK – Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reeves made an immediate impact upon returning to action in Tuesday night’s 125-109 win over the Brooklyn Nets.
Reeves, who has been sidelined for the past five weeks due to left calf tightness, came off the bench and recorded 15 points on 3-of-9 shooting, four rebounds and two steals. According to manager J.J. Redick, he will be limited to 21 minutes, which is well below his average of 35.3 minutes this season.
“Sitting on the bench sucks,” Reeves said. “I think all I’ve done for the last month and a half is yell at the referees. It’s not fun. I’d rather yell at them on the court. But it’s good to be back on the court and running around and feeling the energy and playing the game I love.”
Reaves checked in with 1:30 left in the first quarter and managed to get to the free throw line on his first shift, going 2-of-2 and going 8-of-10.
“I think we missed him in every way,” Redick said before the game. “As an on-ball player, as an off-ball player, as a connector, his leadership on the court, his competitive spirit, his competitive spirit on defense. I mean, he’s an All-Star level player, and of course we’re going to miss him in a lot of ways.”
Reaves, 27, was enjoying a career season when he strained his left calf in a 132-119 loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Dec. 10, then suffered another calf strain two weeks later on Christmas Day in a 119-96 loss to the Houston Rockets. Before the injury, Reeves was averaging 26.6 points, shooting 50.7 percent from the field, 6.3 assists, 5.2 rebounds and 1.0 steals.
The Lakers are 10-9 without Reeves since the game against the Rockets.
His presence in Brooklyn helped the Lakers finish their eight-game Grammy trip with a 5-3 record.
“It was encouraging for all of us, especially at the end of the road trip, to have a player like that back,” said LeBron James, who led Los Angeles with 25 points against the Nets. “Obviously his rhythm is a little off, but he still made an impact and I’m really happy to have him back.”
Reeves, who was close to returning for Sunday’s game against the New York Knicks, explained why he waited for Brooklyn.
“I wanted to make sure I was 100 percent good,” he said. “I really wanted to play the other night against the Knicks. I love playing there. I wish I could have gone out there and helped the team, but I didn’t feel like it and I woke up this morning feeling really good, so I tried it out right before the game. It was fun.”