The Los Angeles Lakers suffered a loss in Game 1 of the 2026 NBA Playoffs conference semifinals against the Oklahoma City Thunder, but they welcomed back Austin Reaves, although he struggled, and Luka Doncic, who remains sidelined, spoke about it.
Doncic supported his teammate with some important context about Reaves’ own injury problems so far in these playoffs. “It’s tough. He came back from an injury stuff. But my message to him is just be yourself. We all know he’s an amazing player, and we all know he’s gonna bounce back,” said Doncic, per Dan Woike of The Athletic on X, formerly Twitter.
The Lakers mustered just 37 points in the second half of this one after staying relatively competitive through two quarters. This was a brutal game from Austin Reaves, who scored just eight points on 3-16 shooting from the field.
What Reaves had missed
Reaves missed the first four games of the Lakers’ first-round NBA series against the Houston Rockets due to an oblique injury, but returned to help Los Angeles close out the series in six games, looking fairly similar to his usual self in those matchups.
Austin Reaves #15 of the Los Angeles Lakers checks into the game.
However, Reaves struggled against the relentless Oklahoma City defense all night on Tuesday, forcing tough shots and not finding much success drawing fouls, which is usually a major part of his scoring arsenal.
For the Lakers to have any chance of keeping this competitive without Doncic, Reaves will need to be much better than he was in Game 1. And without a doubt, LeBron trying to keep the Lakers alive was not enough and will not be enough against OKC.
Reaves will have his opportunity to bounce back in Game 2 on Thursday at the Paycom Center, which will be the final game in Oklahoma City before the series shifts to Los Angeles for Game 3 and Game 4 at Crypto.com Arena.
