Game 1 of the first round of the NBA Playoffs between the Los Angeles Lakers and Memphis Grizzlies was fiercely contested for much of the first three quarters. Down the line, however, Austin Reaves came up huge, propelling L.A. to a 128-112 triumph.
NBA Twitter erupts when Austin Reaves scores against the Grizzlies in the fourth quarter
He finished with 23 points on 8-of-13 shooting and 3-of-5 from beyond the arc, and Twitter congratulated him.
If anyone was wondering how Reaves would react to his first playoff game, especially on the road in front of a rowdy Memphis crowd, he delivered an impressive performance.
In the stretch, with the game on the line and Los Angeles holding a slim lead, the undrafted wing hit a string of baskets to extend his team’s lead and put the game out of reach.
It was a continuation of a great regular season in which he averaged 13.0 points and 3.4 assists per game. He was extremely efficient, shooting 52.9 percent overall, 39.8 percent from outside the arc, and 86.4 percent from the free-throw line.
He also did an excellent job all year of grabbing defenders’ attention and gathering numerous foul shot attempts on a nightly basis.
In doing so, Reaves has established himself as one of the Lakers’ best and most valued players.
He was their sixth man for much of the season, but he was promoted to the starting lineup late in the season after increasing his output after the All-Star break.
The only issue is that he will be a free agent once the playoffs conclude, and he may have priced himself out of the Lakers’ range.
Another team may give him at least $20 million per year, in which case L.A. would be hard pressed to match and pay him what he’s worth.
But, for the time being, he might very well urge his club to outperform this spring.
