Scheduled
Los Angeles Lakers at Atlanta Hawks
2026-27 · Regular season
Interactive: 38-14, then a fight to the finish — how Austin Reaves’ 43 held off the Pistons, step by step
Without Luka Dončić, the Lakers led Detroit by 26 and won 121-116, but the Pistons got within one point three times in the fourth. The game minute by minute, the stretch with Reaves on the bench and what decided it.
In this article
Austin Reaves during the Lakers’ win in Detroit, Nov. 8, 2026. Still from NBA video on X, resized.Interactive · Los Angeles Lakers
38-14, then a fight to the finish: how Austin Reaves’ 43 held off the Pistons, step by step
Without Luka Dončić, the Lakers led Detroit by 26 early in the second quarter and won 121-116, but the Pistons got within one point three times in the fourth. The game minute by minute, the 10-minute stretch with Reaves on the bench, and what decided it.
Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. Photo by Michael Barera, resized.Chapter 1
A 24-point first quarter
The Lakers played Sunday in Detroit without Luka Dončić, who sat out with low back tightness. They made 7 of their first 10 shots and led 38-14 after the first quarter.
Walker Kessler’s layup 39 seconds into the second quarter made it 40-14. That 26-point lead was the largest of the night.
0-14score after one quarter
0largest Lakers lead
0lead changes
0%of the game with the Lakers ahead
Points by quarter, Lakers vs. Pistons
Austin Reaves during the Lakers’ win in Detroit, Nov. 8, 2026. Still from NBA video on X, resized.Chapter 2
Detroit chips away
Detroit won each of the last three quarters. Daniss Jenkins scored 20 points in the second quarter alone, finishing it with a 27-foot three with 1.1 seconds left that made the halftime score 61-48.
Jenkins finished with a career-high 31 points off the bench and made 8 of 15 threes. Kevin Huerter added 24 points on 9-of-14 shooting and blocked five shots.
Lakers lead, every four minutes
0Jenkins points, a career high
0Jenkins points in the second quarter
0Jenkins threes
0Huerter points
JJ Redick in 2018. Photo by Keith Allison, resized.Chapter 3
Reaves sits, the lead melts
Reaves went to the bench with 2:30 left in the third quarter and the Lakers up 84-73. He came back with 9:14 left in the fourth. In between, Detroit outscored the Lakers 16-6, and the lead was down to 90-89.
Jenkins’ running jumper made it 88-86 with 10:56 to play. JJ Redick stuck to the planned rotation anyway.
0Lakers lead when Reaves sat
0-6Detroit run while he sat
0Lakers lead when he returned
“If you start just overreacting in-game and saying, ‘I got to get this guy back in’ … it’s just chaos.”— JJ Redick, Lakers head coach
Austin Reaves with the Lakers in March 2022. Photo by Erik Drost, resized.Chapter 4
Within one, three times
Detroit got within one point three times in the fourth quarter. It had not been tied since 4-4 in the first two minutes, and it never led. Each time, the Lakers answered.
The last big shot was Reaves’ off-balance 27-foot three with 45.6 seconds left as the shot clock ran out, after Paul Reed’s tip had cut it to 109-104. Reaves and Collin Sexton made six free throws down the stretch.
- Cade Cunningham free throw: 90-89. Reaves checks back in.
- Paul Reed floater: 95-94. Ziaire Williams answers with a three off a Reaves pass.
- Ausar Thompson layup: 97-96. Kessler’s three-point play later makes it 107-99.
- Reaves’ 27-foot three beats the shot clock after Detroit had cut it to 109-104.
Reaves points by quarter
0Reaves points, a season high
0-27from the field
0-11free throws
+0plus-minus in 37 minutes
Walker Kessler in January 2022. Photo by Chris Gillespie, resized.Chapter 5
Threes against the paint
Detroit made 19 threes to the Lakers’ 11 and grabbed 18 offensive rebounds. The Lakers made up for it inside and at the line: they outscored the Pistons 58-46 in the paint and went 26 of 33 on free throws, against Detroit’s 13 of 20.
Kessler finished with 12 points, 16 rebounds, seven of them offensive, and three blocks. Sexton and Williams each scored 17 off the bench.
Where the points came from
0Kessler rebounds
0Detroit offensive rebounds
0extra free throws made by the Lakers
“Very easily, you know, being down like we were, the group could have gone and called it a night. But I thought he led the charge.”— J.B. Bickerstaff, Pistons head coach, on Daniss Jenkins
Chapter 6
Five straight, and Atlanta next
The win was the Lakers’ fifth in a row and moved them to 9-2, 4-1 on the road. Detroit, which opened 6-1, has lost two straight and is 6-3.
The Lakers play again on Monday night at Atlanta, the second game of a back-to-back, at 7 p.m. ET, 2 a.m. Tuesday Cairo time. The Pistons host Washington at the same time.
0-2Lakers record
0straight Lakers wins
0-3Pistons record
- Lakers 131, Toronto 125.
- Lakers 138, Miami 117.
- Lakers 116, at Sacramento 103.
- Lakers 124, Portland 118, with 53 from Dončić.
- Lakers 121, at Detroit 116, with 43 from Reaves.
A 26-point lead, three one-point games and 43 from Reaves. The Lakers never trailed in Detroit, and their best player on the night was the one who made all 11 of his free throws.
Interactive by WhyNBA Staff · November 9, 2026
Join the discussion
0 commentsTalk basketball. Keep it respectful. You can use a name or stay Anonymous. Comments publish immediately.
Be the first to start the conversation.