DETROIT -- If Austin Reaves' season-high 43 points in the Los Angeles Lakers' 121-116 win over the Detroit Pistons wasn't enough of a Luka Doncic impersonation, Reaves made sure to fully embody his teammate on a 3-pointer he hoisted up in the third quarter Sunday.

"Honestly, when I stepped back and shot it, I was like, 'This is some bulls--- Luka would shoot,'" Reaves said.

The shot ricocheted off the glass and through the hoop and was one of many that fell for him -- he shot 14-of-27 from the field (4-of-6 from 3) and 11-for-11 from the foul line -- as L.A. extended its winning streak to five despite Doncic missing the game because of tightness in his lower back.

"I didn't try to bank it in," Reaves said, explaining why he shrugged his shoulders in disbelief afterward. "It went in, so it looks the same in the stat sheet."

And the Lakers (9-2) looked like the same confident group they've been to start the season, despite playing without Doncic, the NBA's No. 1 scorer (40.1 points per game), against a Pistons team ranked No. 1 in defense.

"Guys have to step up when someone's averaging 40," said Lakers guard Collin Sexton, who scored 17 points off the bench. "You got to fill the shoes and be ready to impact winning. And I felt like we did that tonight, and AR picked those shoes up and he wore them."

It was the second game that Doncic has missed this season -- both because of back tightness and in a back-to-back scenario (L.A. continues its four-game road stretch in Atlanta on Monday). The Lakers are 2-0 without him.

"I thought AR's decision-making, his aggression, his ability to just consistently touch the paint and get downhill was fantastic tonight," Lakers coach JJ Redick said of Reaves.

L.A. had five players score in double digits, with Reaves and Sexton joined by Ziaire Williams (17 points off the bench), Walker Kessler (12 points, 16 rebounds, 3 blocks) and Quentin Grimes, who scored 10 of his 12 points in the first quarter when the Lakers built a 38-14 lead.

Detroit (6-3) chipped away, outscoring L.A. by eight from the 2:30 mark of the third until the 9:14 mark of the fourth with Reaves resting on the bench to draw within one, down 90-89.

Redick explained why he didn't sub Reaves, who had already played 28 of 33 minutes when he exited, back in the game quicker.

"You got to allow the players to play through it," Redick said. "And the same thing with the star players, you got to allow them to get their rest. And if you start just overreacting in-game and saying, 'I got to get this guy back in, I got to get this guy back in,' it's just chaos. And we're trying to create consistency for our players."

Redick downplayed any concern he has about Doncic's back being a lingering injury, so L.A.'s starting backcourt will likely be together again in Atlanta. But for a night at least, the Lakers had another 40-point scorer leading the way.

"I mean, Luka game, Austin game: Lakers win," Kessler said. "I don't know if it really feels different. They're both incredible players to play alongside, and they hit some really, really tough shots."

Not that Reaves is looking to take credit for his. When asked about his banked-in 3 in the third and another make he had in the first quarter when he shot the ball over the corner of the backboard as he was falling out of bounds along the baseline, he had a humble response.

Said Reaves: "I was a lucky player tonight."