On Tuesday in Las Vegas, the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers battled as part of the preseason.
Austin Reaves torched the Warriors with 28 points, four rebounds and seven assists on 10-for-18 shooting from the field in the first three quarters. The Warriors were down by as many as 20 points before pulling off the comeback 101-89 win.
Will Richard and Brandin Podziemski led the fourth-quarter rally. Podziemski had a team-high 17 points, adding four rebounds and five assists.
Richard scored all of his nine points in the fourth quarter, while Yaxel Lendeborg also had 17 points, continuing his impressive preseason.
Steve Kerr on Austin Reaves
Speaking to reporters after the game, Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr was asked about stopping players like Austin Reaves from scoring a ton of points in a short period of time.
Kerr wasn’t too happy about their team defense, but he also praised Reaves for being a “handful” on offense.
“We have to do it as a unit,” Kerr said. “Our pick and roll defense was really poor in the first half. It got better in the second half. We were a little bit twixt in between, and Austin is a handful. He’s so good scoring and also making passes over the top of the defense, which he did consistently early.”
Reaves will be a problem for the rest of the NBA, especially if he stays healthy. He’s coming off the best year of his career and will be the second option on offense from the get-go.
On the other hand, the Warriors will have to be better defensively as a team if they want to have a shot at competing for a playoff spot in a loaded Western Conference.
JJ Redick on Reaves
Steve Kerr wasn’t the only coach who praised Austin Reaves following his 28-point night in Las Vegas.
Los Angeles Lakers coach JJ Redick liked what he saw from Reaves, who was the Lakers’ best player on the court with Luka Doncic out.
Redick was impressed with Reaves’ offense, though he would like him to be a better playmaker after committing seven turnovers.
“I think he did a nice job of touching the paint,” Redick said. “He did a nice job of playmaking. He’s just a fantastic offensive player. I mean, the thing with him is always like giving him a construct of what we want to do within our organized offense, but then allowing him the freedom to be Austin.”
The Lakers dropped to 2-2 in the preseason after their loss to Golden State. They have one more preseason game on Friday against the Denver Nuggets at the Crypto.com Arena.
Steve Kerr Sends Strong Austin Reaves Message as Lakers Star Torches Warriors