The Los Angeles Lakers stole Game 1 from the Memphis Grizzlies after Austin Reaves, along with LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Rui Hachimura, scored more than 20 en route to a 128-112 victory.
The basketball world can’t stop talking about Reaves’ postseason debut, which was crucial in Sunday’s victory for the Lakers. The sophomore shooting guard finished with 23 points, 14 of which came in the fourth quarter. He is just the third Laker in the last 25 seasons to go 5-for-5 or better in the fourth quarter of a playoff game, joining LA all-time greats Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal.
Additionally, his 14 points in the fourth quarter are also the most he’s scored in any quarter of his career.
James, who finished with 21 points, had plenty of praise for his teammate.
“I knew from the first practice … it wasn’t going to be two-way [contract] for a long time,” James said after the game. “I’ve been around the game long enough to know great basketball IQ players … and the [guys] that fits me
“I knew Austin would be that.”
On Monday’s “Undisputed,” Shannon Sharpe reacted to Reaves’ impressive performance and explained why he believes the 24-year-old will continue to have big games for the Lakers, in this series and beyond.
“If you go back to the last six weeks of the season, he [has] He’s been sensational, but you never know how a guy’s going to perform in his first playoff game,” Sharpe said. “He’s in the starting lineup. He is being counted on a lot. They let him handle the ball a lot. He told me a lot.”
Lakers steal Game 1 against Grizzlies; Austin Reaves scores 20+ points
Skip Bayless and Shannon Sharpe react to the Lakers’ postseason win.
Skip Bayless agreed, going so far as to say that the former undrafted free agent is becoming a true NBA star.
“Now we’re seeing enough sample size,” Bayless said. “In the 29 games he [has] played since that trade deadline: LeBron missed a month [Reaves] He really needs to step up and shine — he’s shooting 57% from the floor, 45% from 3 and 85% from the free throw line. … The first two numbers are off the list. … I saw him in Oklahoma. He showed none of that.
“Have you ever seen a player improve more from college to the NBA?”
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