With both LeBron James and Luka Dončić sidelined due to injury, the Lakers once again needed to lean on one Austin Reaves. And Reaves, who looks to be in the early stages of a year-five breakout, was up to the task. While it wasn't his best shooting night—9-for-24 from the field and 3 of 11 from three-point range—Reaves was at his best when the Lakers needed him the most: in the fourth quarter.

Reaves scored eight of his 28 points in the game's final period, helping Los Angeles stave off a furious comeback from the Minnesota Timberwolves, the team who eliminated them from the postseason this past year.

And Reaves hit the big shot, a one-legged floater in the paint that he sank to give Los Angeles a 116-115 lead with 1.1 seconds left in the game.

After the contest, Reaves was asked if he expected to get any praiseworthy or excited text messages from James or Dončić about his game-winning performance.

Quite the oppposite, actually.

"They'll probably tell me I suck because I missed like 14 shots," Reaves said with a laugh.

James, Dončić, JJ Redick react to Reaves's game-winner

Well, they weren't text messages, but we got an idea of how the two Lakers stars actually felt about what Reaves had accomplished on Wednesday night.

Reaves's coach JJ Redick was equally unsurprised by Reaves's performance in the clutch.

"That guy is going to show up in the big moments," Redick said after the game, via ESPN's Dave McMenamin. "Not surprised. He's done that many times in his career. He's done that many times since I've been his coach. Feel very comfortable with him making decisions late-game."

Reaves, 27, has had quite the week. With Dončić joining James on the sidelines, Reaves has readily accepted the role of Lakers' alpha, as he dropped a career-high 51 points against the Kings, chipped in 41 vs. the Trail Blazers and followed up those high-octane performances with a game-winner and 16 assists—tying his career-high—Wednesday. The Lakers (3-2) next take on the Grizzlies on Friday.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Austin Reaves Imagines LeBron and Luka Dončić Will Be Unimpressed by Game-Winner.

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