NEW ORLEANS They move in silence, these injuries. A whisper of pain, a quiet theft of a first step, a slow fade of confidence. For Austin Reaves, the groin was a ghost, a phantom limb haunting his drives and dulling his edge. They search for answers in ice baths and treatment tables, in the lonely work of rehabilitation.
The real cure, it turns out, is not found in a training room. It is found in the roar of a road arena, in the sweet friction of a perfect jumper, in the unspoken language of five players moving as one.
It is found in the flow.
And in the Lakers’ 118-104 Commissioner’s Cup dissection of the New Orleans Pelicans, the flow was a river. A relentless, physical, purposeful current that swept the Pelicans away and announced that Reaves and rebounded after being blown out in Oklahoma City.
“Sitting out a couple games, you get a little rusty,” Reaves admitted. “Coming back, he didn’t really play the way he wanted to.”
Friday night, he played the way Austin Reaves can play. A brilliant 31 points. A hyper-efficient 11-of-13 from the stripe. Seven assists. Four rebounds. A stat line that speaks not of empty numbers, but of profound impact.
This was his most artful he’s looked since his return, a canvas painted with aggressive drives and clever passes.
His reawakening was the spark, but the ensuing fire was a collective blaze. The Lakers improved to 2-0 in the Cup, and the how was just as important as the how many. This was not a victory of isolation heroics. It was a win of orchestrated chaos, of beautiful, brutal basketball.
The offense was a study in multiplicity and movement. It was Luka Dončić, conducting the offense with 24 points and 12 assists, dissecting double-teams with preternatural calm.
“I just try to read the game,” Dončić said. “If they double me I like the double. It makes you play four-on-three.”
It was DeAndre Ayton, a titan in the paint, finishing with a monstrous 20 points and 16 rebounds on a preposterous 10-of-11 shooting. He was the recipient of that purposeful ball movement, the finisher of a thousand clever actions.
The Lakers punished the Pelicans’ defense with each one.
Outlet passes ignited early seals. Relentless physicality created mismatches, and mismatches led to points. Sixty points in the paint. A number that speaks to a simple, gritty truth: they imposed their will.
“We executed our game plan a lot better,” Reaves said. “When we share the ball like we did tonight we have so many guys that can make shots.”
That sharing, that trust, is the lifeblood of this resurgence. It’s Dončić willingly ceding control to find a cutting Marcus Smart. It’s Reaves, now fully fluid, engaging Ayton early and often.
The vibe is different now. The rhythm returned. The Lakers are playing with a pace and a force that feels both joyful and menacing. They are playing with a chip and a charm, a blend of fury and finesse.
After his injury, the question lingered: what would the Lakers look like when Austin Reaves was whole again? We now have our answer. They look balanced and physical. They look like a team that can make a run not just in the Cup, but beyond.
The Thunder voodoo was exercised in New Orleans. The Lakers’ flow has been restored. And for the Lakers, it’s just beginning.