Austin Reaves celebrates the Lakers being able to win big games without Luka Doncic

Austin Reaves celebrates the Lakers being able to win big games without Luka Doncic originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.In nine games played this season, Luka Doncic has been spectacular for the Los Angeles Lakers. He is averaging a whopping 40.1 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 7.7 assists per game. He has been the primary reason behind the Lakers' impressive success at the start of the season. Doncic had to sit out the Lakers' Sunday night game against the Detroit Pistons because of back tightness. That is a worrying sign for the Lakers because back injuries are tough to navigate. However, it seems the Lakers managed to push through without their superstar leading the charge.Austin Reaves lauds how the Lakers won a big game without Luka DoncicAfter losing LeBron James in the summer, the Lakers have pivoted to fully focusing on maximizing Doncic. That has paid off so far, but there are times when he has to sit out games due to a nagging injury he has been dealing with.Sunday was the best example of this because Doncic is currently dealing with back tightness. Thankfully for the Lakers and their fans, they have Austin Reaves leading the charge. He played like Doncic on Sunday, scoring 43 points to lead the Lakers over the Pistons.MORE:Luka Doncic speaks on what he has improved in his game after joining the LakersIt was an impressive performance from the Lakers because the Pistons are one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference. Moving forward, this is a good sign for the Lakers because they have found a way to keep winning without their best player leading the way."We just stayed calm; you can get sped up in those moments, but we trust what we got on this team. You got to weather the storm, and that's what we did... We got a lot of guys who can play basketball; they play the right way, they play hard, they know their roles, unselfish guys who are ready to step up when their name is called," Reaves said in his post-game interview after beating the Pistons.The Lakers are humming positively this season, and that bodes well for the long season. Of course, it is still early, so they are building the right habits that can help them thrive during the Playoffs in April. At the moment, they are enjoying the process and aiming to keep developing.More NBA news:Luka Doncic has spoken, still having fun amid the historic scoring streakThe Lakers have a new challenge because of Luka Doncic's scoring streakCarmelo Anthony sees Luka Doncic as the NBA MVP for the 2026-27 seasonThe 40-point streak has given Lakers fans more opportunities to be optimisticGiannis Antetokounmpo sees Luka Doncic as one of the league's greatest-ever scorers