Austin Reaves doesn’t practice that shot. But like so many of his athletic exploits, somehow a perfect missed free throw just comes naturally to the Lakers guard.
Reaves’ expertly executed missed free throw, offensive rebound and difficult tying floater with 1.9 seconds remaining in regulation spurred the Lakers to a thrilling 127-125 overtime win over the Denver Nuggets on Saturday.
While Luka Doncic had 30 points, 11 rebounds, 13 assists and the winning shot in overtime, Reaves had a team-high 32 points and the biggest rebound of the game.
With the Lakers down by three with 5.2 seconds left, Reaves was fouled and made the first free throw. He said he was “not very” confident when he received instructions to miss the second.
Coach JJ Redick set the play up to miss it to the right side because that was supposed to be the side with just one defender. When only Nikola Jokic lined up to Reaves’ left, he switched the plan.
“I thought if I threw it fast enough, that Jokic wouldn’t have the time to get his hands up to grab the ball,” Reaves said.
Reaves chucked up a line drive that ricocheted off the front of the rim and toward his left. Deandre Ayton screened Jokic away from the rebound, Reaves chased it down, turned, drove baseline and tossed up a one-legged floater that went in. The game went to overtime after Denver guard Jamal Murray’s half-court prayer bounced off the backboard at the buzzer.
“That execution was perfection,” said Doncic, who clenched both fists when Reaves’ shot dropped softly through the net.
No one practices missed free throws, said LeBron James, who had 17 points, five assists and one clutch full-extension dive to save a loose ball in the fourth quarter. The unfamiliarity with the play makes it that much harder to execute.
But Reaves, who excels at nearly every sport he attempts, including golf, bowling, tennis, pickleball and table tennis, just has great touch, Redick said with a shrug.
Reaves said he did pull off a similar feat this summer in a pick-up style, five-minute game when he collected his own missed free throw and hit a reverse layup to tie it.
“That’s one in a 100 in the NBA,” Nuggets coach David Adelman said.
Those odds couldn’t be much longer than the ones Reaves already beat to get to this point.
The under-recruited, undrafted Arkansas native is in the midst of a career year. He is averaging 24 points, 4.8 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game. He was bound to make his first All-Star Game before being sidelined for more than a month because of a calf injury. With the Lakers surging up the Western Conference, moving into third place Saturday with their fifth straight win and their eighth in the last nine games, Reaves has three consecutive 30-point games. He is shooting 55.8% from the field in the last four games, a stretch that included significant wins over playoff contenders in the New York Knicks, Minnesota Timberwolves and the Nuggets.
Reaves became the 46th undrafted player in NBA history to reach 5,000 career points this week, eclipsing the mark in Thursday’s win over the Chicago Bulls. Teammates including James and Doncic count Reaves among their peers deserving of star status. Reaves balks at the idea.
“Still feels weird,” Reaves said on Thursday of being considered a “star.” “I obviously have delusional confidence in myself when it comes to basketball. But when the game’s over and I’ve got to go home and think about it, I don’t really think of myself in the category of some of these other guys. But I just enjoy playing basketball, playing the right way and continuing to get better. I really just stay low-key and hang out by myself.”
Reaves is “a simple guy,” Redick said. He likes to golf, he likes to hoop — sometimes in that specific order — and he likes his family. Reaves’ face lights up anytime someone brings up his niece Ruby, who was born shortly before the season started.
But Redick knows there’s a “wonderful duality to Austin.” He’s a quiet country boy. He’s also capable of dropping 51 points in a game like he did against the Sacramento Kings earlier this season. And he’s confident enough to shout “I’m him” after making a clutch three-pointer in the playoffs.
After pulling off another iconic play Saturday, Reaves had a more humble message.
“I love you,” Reaves said to the basketball in his hands as the game went to overtime. “I love you.”
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