Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves was back on the floor for less than two games before an unsportsmanlike move by Amen Thompson of the Houston Rockets put Reaves’ playoff future back at risk.
The NBA announced on Saturday, May 2 that it had levied a Flagrant 1 against Thompson retroactively following a play he made against Reaves in the fourth quarter of the Lakers’ blowout Game 6 victory in Houston, which sent the Rockets home in Round 1 for the second consecutive year.
Dan Woike of The Athletic described Thompson’s actions as “unnecessary” in an X report that included a link to video of Thompson yanking violently on Reaves’ extended left arm and pulling him to the floor.
“Reaves told me postgame his should was OK, but still an unnecessary play,” Woike wrote.
Austin Reaves Getting Back to Normal 2 Games After Return From Long Injury
GettyLos Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves.
Reaves missed nearly four weeks with a grade 2 oblique strain he suffered on April 2 against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Lakers superstar Luka Doncic, who remains sidelined with a hamstring strain and whose status for the team’s Round 2 matchup against the Thunder is yet uncertain, sustained his injury in the same contest.
Los Angeles went 0-4 against Oklahoma City during the regular season, losing by an average of nearly 30 points per contest. Playing without Doncic is a daunting enough task, though doing so absent both he and Reaves would appear to render victory almost impossible.
Reaves has played 32.5 minutes over his two games back, averaging 18.5 points, four assists, 3.5 rebounds and two blocks per game on just 36.7 percent shooting from the field, including 16.7 percent from behind the 3-point line on six attempts per contest.
He is clearly continuing to shake the rust off, though four days of rest and preparation between Game 6 in Round 1 and the Round 2 series opener in Oklahoma City should have Reaves that much closer to the best version of himself when the Lakers need it most.
LeBron James Thanked Raptors for Pushing Start of Lakers-Thunder Series Back 2 Days
GettyLeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers.
LeBron James was also thankful for the two extra days of respite between playoff outings, which the Toronto Raptors provided via a last-second 3-point shot from RJ Barrett to best the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 6 on Friday and force the third Game 7 in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.
“Thank you, RJ Barrett. I appreciate it,” James said. “Haven’t seen a shot in Toronto like that since Kawhi [Leonard]. There’s something about those rims.”
James, the NBA’s oldest player at 41 years of age, was without his two co-stars in Doncic and Reaves for the first four games of the series against the Rockets. Los Angeles jumped out to a 3-0 lead behind unheard of production from a player James’ age, as well as timely contributions from the likes of role players Luke Kennard and Marcus Smart.
DeAndre Ayton also elevated to meet the challenge, turning himself into a more dominant rebounder over the second half of the series than he has been at any point in his career.
The former No. 1 pick averaged 14.3 rebounds per night between Games 4-7 and 10.8 rebounds per contest for the series. His average was 8.0 rebounds per game across the 2025-26 regular season, while his career average is 10.1 boards per outing.
Los Angeles will need all of them, along with Reaves and James, to produce exceptional series against the reigning champion Thunder if the Lakers want any hope of advancing to the Western Conference Finals.
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