Have a night, Austin Reaves!

The Lakers were without their two superstars, Luka Dončić and LeBron James, on Sunday night, but Reaves put the team on his back and led them to a 127–120 victory over the Kings. With Dončić missing time due to a sprained finger and lower leg contusion and James out because of sciatica, Reaves scored a career-high 51 points to help earn the win.

Reaves nearly recorded a triple-double with 51 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists in the game, which moved the Lakers to 2–1 on the season. He bested his previous game high of 45 points, and followed up back-to-back 40-point games from Doncic with a 50-point game of his own. Over the first two games of the season, Reaves scored a combined 51 points, a tally he matched on Sunday night alone.

The Lakers were thrilled for Reaves, with his teammates swarming him after the buzzer hit. James was among those excited, writing on X, "50 piece nugget!!!!! That boy AR TOOOO TOUGH!!"

James additionally posted on X with multiple laughing emojis, "Damn that’s crazy we almost had back to back 50 balls. Damnit Don! ! Sick back court!"

Head coach JJ Redick also sung the praises of Reaves after the game, saying, "He was fantastic. Did a little bit of everything for us tonight, all over the place. Scored the basketball at an incredible level. His tenacity to compete. It's so apparent every single day he's in the gym and he just loves competition, he thrives on competition."

With this performance, Reaves joined James, Anthony Davis, Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant as the fifth Lakers player this century to score at least 50 points in a game.

"I grew up watching all those guys," Reaves said after the win. "I ain't got no words. Some of the best players to ever play the game."

Since Dončić and James are slated to miss more time, the Lakers will likely continue to lean on Reaves in the near future. The Lakers will next play the Trail Blazers on Monday.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com as LeBron James Had Fired-Up Message After Austin Reaves Dropped 51 Points in Lakers' Win.

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