With Luka Dončić sidelined, Austin Reaves poured in a season-high 43 points Sunday to carry the Los Angeles Lakers past the Detroit Pistons 121-116 for their fifth straight win.

Dončić, the league’s leading scorer at 40.1 points per game, sat out with tightness in his lower back. That left Reaves to run the offense on the road against a Pistons team ranked No. 1 in defense entering the night.

The 28-year-old came through, including knocking down a dagger 3-pointer in the final minute, drawing high praise from across the NBA world.

Austin Reaves’ 43-Point Eruption vs. Pistons Earns Rave Reviews

Reaves was efficient throughout, shooting 14-for-27 overall (51.9%), 4-for-6 from deep (66.7%), and 11-for-11 at the free-throw line (100%), with 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and just 1 turnover in 37 minutes. The Lakers raced to a 38-14 lead after one quarter, stretched their advantage to 26 points early in the second, and never trailed.

Detroit still made a game of it behind Daniss Jenkins, who scored 31 points off the bench and went 8-for-15 from beyond the arc (53.3%).

The biggest bucket of the night came in the final minute. The Lakers led 109-104, and their offense appeared to be stalling until Jake LaRavia got the ball to Reaves with the shot clock winding down. Off balance, Reaves hit a deep triple with 44.5 seconds left to extend LA’s edge to 112-104 before going on to ice the game at the charity stripe.

“AUSTIN REAVES DAGGER,” content creator Ahmed/The Ears exclaimed.

Lakers fan page LakeShowYo dubbed the star guard’s big-time outing a “masterclass.”

Lakers All Day Everyday joined the celebration, emphatically posting, “AUSTIN REAVES SAYS GOODNIGHT TO DETROIT.”

One fan took aim at Reaves’ doubters: “Where the haters at tonight??? Austin [expletive] Reaves.”

The bar for serving as LA’s No. 1 scoring option was sky-high heading into Sunday. Dončić averaged a staggering 45 ppg over his previous four outings, all wins, with Reaves taking a back seat.

The Sporting Tribune’s Arash Markazi reacted, “No Luka, no problem as Austin Reaves picks up the 40-point streak after dropping 43 points in the Lakers’ 121-116 win over Detroit. That’s Austin’s fifth career 40-point game, tying Wilt Chamberlain for 12th most in Lakers regular-season history, behind Magic Johnson, who had 6.”

Another fan looked beyond the box score to the Lakers’ impressive team-wide start:

“Lakers have looked like a machine this season. Obviously Luka’s averaging 40, but Reaves has been All-NBA level and dominated as the top option tonight, the additions have been good, [Walker] Kessler’s been an awesome rim protector and play finisher. Offseason was controversial, but it’s working extremely well so far, really impressive.”

While Reaves deemed some of his tough shot-making “lucky,” Kessler, who finished with 12 points, 16 rebounds, and 3 blocks, gave his teammate far more credit.

“Luka is an incredible player, and I think there are times when he’s playing that AR kind of has to take a secondary role,” Kessler said. “But you could see tonight that he’s a very capable player. It doesn’t matter if we get a Luka game or an AR game, we’re still going to win.”

LA coach JJ Redick was just as complimentary.

“I thought AR’s decision-making, his aggression, his ability to just consistently touch the paint and get downhill was fantastic tonight,” Redick gushed.

The Lakers, first in the Western Conference (9-2), have now won both games Dončić has sat out this season, fueling optimism amid their four-game road trip, which continues Monday against the Atlanta Hawks (7-4).