LOS ANGELES — Just as the Lakers took one forceful step forward, the team took one hobbled step back.
On the night Austin Reaves sprinted in the paint past the Philadelphia 76ers defense, Lakers guard Luka Dončić limped off to the back with a hamstring injury — the hope that the Lakers would be healthy post-trade deadline already seemingly like foolish optimism.
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Dončić is scheduled to undergo further testing on the leg Friday, his status to be determined from there.
Reaves, playing for the second time since suffering a calf strain on Christmas, scored 35 points in just 25 minutes, leading the Lakers to a 119-115 comeback win snapping Philadelphia’s five-game winning streak.
“I just feel normal,” Reaves said. “Just feel like myself playing basketball.”
After missing 19 games with a Grade 2 calf strain, Reaves hit 12-of-17 from the field including five threes, his rhythm full intact even if his bearings were slightly off. As he pulled his feet out of an ice bucket postgame, he got up and started to walk out of the locker room — forgetting that he needed to take a postgame shower because he’d gotten so used to not playing.
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“I mean, he was unbelievable tonight,” JJ Redick said. “And it’s just his drives. I know he made threes tonight and hit a couple that were pretty incredible, but his drives and his thrust. Got to the free throw line, but just got in the paint and made plays and scored at the rim. It was great to see.”
The sight of Dončić grabbing at the back of his leg following a turnover in the second quarter was less welcomed. He stayed in the game but was clearly wincing and limping until the Lakers could take him out of the game. He immediately went to the back.
Rui Hachimura began the start of the second half in Dončić’s place, the team officially ruling him out midway through the third quarter with “left leg soreness.”
On the Lakers’ recent eight-game road trip, Dončić escaped serious injury when he hurt his left ankle tripping off the elevated court in Cleveland. After heading to the back against the Cavaliers, he was able to return.
Dončić leads the NBA in scoring at 33.4 points per game. He’s also averaging 7.9 rebounds and 8.7 assists. He was named the January Western Conference Player of the Month last week.
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The Lakers trailed by nine when Dončić left the game and trailed by as many as 12 in the second half before the Lakers began their comeback.
“I thought our toughness and our physicality really just allowed us to get back in the game,” Redick said.
Thursday’s game against the 76ers began an eight-game homestand that spans past the All-Star break. They host Golden State on Saturday before playing the Thunder, the Spurs and the Mavericks before the break.