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Luka Doncic sat this one out after averaging 45 points, nine rebounds and eight assists in a four-game winning run, and the Lakers needed someone else: Reaves gave them 43 points, five rebounds and four assists in 36 minutes at Little Caesars Arena.
Filling in for the league's hottest player
The absence was the story going in: Doncic came into Sunday averaging 45 points over a four-game winning run that had left the Lakers at 8-2.
Reaves completed the assignment in full: 43 points, 11 of 11 free throws, one turnover and 36:41 on the floor.
A 23.0-point average over the previous four games said Reaves was already carrying more; against Detroit he simply took the shots as well.
Kessler pushed back on the luck talk: with Doncic on the floor Reaves takes a secondary role, and 43 points made the case that it is a choice, not a ceiling.
Notably, Reaves played two seasons at Wichita State and one at Oklahoma before declaring for the 2021 draft, where the Pistons planned to take him 42nd; he declined so he could sign as a free agent with the Lakers, and Detroit moved on to Isaiah Livers, who played 130 NBA games and now plays in Japan.
A lead the Pistons never held
On the night Los Angeles never lost the lead: a 26-point peak, 97 percent lead time and zero lead changes.
Detroit closed to 109-104 with under a minute to play after the Lakers could not get their offense into rhythm, setting up the final sequence.
Reaves rose for a one-legged, off-balance three that went in, then called it a terrible shot that looked like one of the ridiculous attempts Doncic makes.
In the wider picture, Detroit's answer came from elsewhere: Jenkins with 31 points on eight made threes, Huerter with 24 and five blocks, neither enough to change who held the lead.
The Pistons outshot Los Angeles from the arc, 19 makes to 11, and still spent the entire evening behind.
Kessler's 16 boards and 58 points in the paint
The second-chance work was Los Angeles' quiet edge: Kessler's 16 rebounds included seven offensive, and the Lakers scored 58 points in the paint.
Ziaire Williams scored 17 points on 4-of-8 from three and Collin Sexton added 17 on 7-of-8 free throws, two more names beside Reaves, Kessler and Grimes in double figures.
Beyond that, Cade Cunningham finished with 14 points on 6-of-15 shooting, eight assists and four turnovers for a minus-15 rating.
Both teams were back on the floor on Monday night: the Lakers in Atlanta at 9-2, the Pistons at home against Washington at 6-3.
Detroit owned eight offensive rebounds from Reed and 11 from Thompson and still lost the glass by a single board.
Editor's take: Kessler's 16 rebounds, seven of them offensive, are the least glamorous reason the Lakers were never truly behind.
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