Luka Dončić missed the Los Angeles Lakers’ 121-116 win over the Detroit Pistons on Nov. 8, 2026, after being sidelined with back tightness. Austin Reaves answered with 43 points and carried the scoring load the Lakers had to replace on a night when their top threat was out.
The absence mattered because Dončić had been on a scorching run, averaging 45 points, nine rebounds and eight assists over his previous four games. The Lakers still won for the fifth straight time, and Reaves made sure the margin held when the Pistons cut the lead to 109-104 entering the final minute.
Reaves played 36:41, made 14 of 27 shots, hit 4 of 6 from three-point range and went 11 of 11 at the free-throw line with just one turnover. He also delivered the shot that sealed the tone of the night, a one-legged, off-balance three-pointer as the shot clock was about to expire. He later called it a terrible shot and said it was 100% lucky.
Walker Kessler added 12 points and 16 rebounds, and his own read of the game was simple: when Dončić is playing, Reaves often has to settle into a secondary role, but the guard showed he can take the lead when needed. That mattered even more here because Reaves had been averaging 23.0 points per game during Dončić’s four-game burst, making this a rare night when the Lakers had to pivot from one elite scorer to another.
The deeper wrinkle is that the Lakers won without Dončić even though they had planned around one of the NBA’s hottest players. That left the biggest unanswered detail on the board: how long the back tightness will keep him out, and whether the team will need another night like this from Reaves before Dončić is back.
