Austin Reaves, LaRavia Energize Lakers Fans in Win vs. Wolves Without LeBron, Luka

Bang! Austin Reaves drills the game-winner to lift the Lakers to victory!

Austin Reaves and his double-double powered the Los Angeles Lakers to a 116–115 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday with help from Jake LaRavia.

It was a total team effort despite a lengthy injury report. Reaves finished with 28 points, 16 assists and two steals, while LaRavia added 27 points on 5-of-6 shooting from three-point range with eight rebounds. 

Rui Hachimura chipped in 17 points, Deandre Ayton tallied 17 points and 10 rebounds, and Dalton Knecht contributed 15 points off the bench.

Minnesota's Julius Randle led the way with 33 points, but his effort wasn't enough to lift the Timberwolves past the Lakers, who were without Luka Dončić and LeBron James.

Fans praised Reaves, LaRavia and the Lakers for pulling off the short-handed win.

With the win, the Lakers improved to 3–2 on the season after losses to Portland on Monday and Golden State on opening night. Meanwhile, the Timberwolves fell to 2–3.

Both teams battled throughout, with the Lakers taking a narrow 62–58 lead into halftime behind 18 points from Reaves and 12 from Ayton.

Los Angeles extended its lead in the third quarter to go up by 11 entering the fourth but couldn't fully pull away from the surging Timberwolves.

Nine straight points from Minnesota late in the game gave the Timberwolves a one-point lead, but Reaves kept his electric night going, hitting the game-winner to seal the victory.

The Lakers will look to carry their momentum into their next matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies on the road on Friday.