Austin Reaves carried the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday, and he made it clear the team never panicked when things got tight against the Detroit Pistons.

With Luka Doncic sidelined due to low back tightness, Reaves erupted for a season-high 43 points as the Lakers held off the Pistons 121-116 at Little Caesars Arena. Afterward, he summed up the win in simple terms.

“We just stayed calm. You can get sped up in those types of moments, but we trust what we got on this team. You just got to weather the storm sometimes, and that’s what we did. We played a good fourth quarter and got a really big win against a really good team,” Reaves said after the game.

“You just got to weather the storm sometimes.”

Austin Reaves joins @roquitheus after his season-high 43-point night to talk about the #Lakers’ fourth-quarter response, trust in their depth and stepping up without Luka. 💪 pic.twitter.com/sAJKiDMlRC

— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) November 9, 2026

The Lakers had a storm to weather. Los Angeles raced out to a 38-14 lead after the first quarter and led by as many as 26 points. Detroit fought back, cutting the deficit to three in the third quarter behind a hot-shooting bench. The Pistons never led, however, and Reaves and company did just enough down the stretch to close it out.

Reaves was nearly flawless. He knocked down 14 of his 27 shots, went 4-of-6 from beyond the arc and a perfect 11-of-11 from the free-throw line. He added five rebounds and four assists while committing just one turnover.

He also credited the Lakers’ depth, which was on full display. Walker Kessler posted 12 points and 16 rebounds, while Collin Sexton and Ziaire Williams each chipped in 17 points.

“We got a lot of guys that can play basketball. They play the right way, they play hard, they know their roles, and unselfish guys that are ready to step up when their name’s called,” Reaves said.

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Still, Reaves knows the Lakers will need that same mindset once Doncic returns.

“Obviously, when we get Luka back, everybody’s got to have the same mentality. He’s one of the best players in the league, if not the best player in the league, and we got to do what we got to do to help him be successful and our organization be successful,” he said.

For Detroit, Daniss Jenkins exploded for 31 points on eight 3-pointers, while Kevin Huerter added 24.

The Lakers improved to 10-2 and will wrap up their back-to-back against the Atlanta Hawks on Monday.