The Los Angeles Lakers made a change to the starting lineup when they entered the second half of the Game 5 matchup against the Houston Rockets.
With Austin Reaves back, Lakers head coach JJ Reddick felt comfortable after two quarters of action going back to the star sharpshooter.
Luke Kennard Has A Rough Outing
One of the biggest names of the first-round series between the Lakers and the Rockets has been Luke Kennard.
However, Wednesday was not his night.
Kennard got the start over Reaves, and checked in for 16 minutes. During Kennard’s first half of action, he took just three shots from the field, with two of his shots coming from deep.
The veteran sharpshooter ended up going scoreless through the first half of action. Meanwhile, Reaves was off to an impressive start after taking so much time off. At halftime, Reaves had just under 15 minutes of action.
From the field, Reaves went 3-6, with two of his makes coming from three. He also went 3-3 from the charity stripe to produce 11 points off the bench for the Lakers. Through the first two quarters, LA trailed 51-47.
Austin Reaves Returns To Seal The Deal
The Lakers need Wednesday’s win to close out the series.
Although Reaves has missed several weeks of action, including the first four games of the NBA Playoffs due to an oblique strain, the veteran sharpshooter could be a key reason why the Lakers put an end to the Rockets’ season.
By taking Kennard out of the starting lineup on Wednesday, Redick was putting his trust in Reaves, who was one of the Lakers’ most consistent players this year when healthy.
In 51 games, Reaves produced 23.3 points per game, while shooting 49.0% from the field and 36.0% from beyond the arc. Reaves also came down with 4.7 rebounds per game, and produced 5.5 assists per game.