Austin Reaves heel injury is the new variable hanging over a Los Angeles Lakers team that just beat the Milwaukee Bucks and still has to close its road trip Sunday in Phoenix. Reaves left Wednesday’s 123-112 win at Fiserv Forum with a left heel injury and did not return, the Los Angeles Times reported, after scoring 18 points in 25:07. Coach JJ Redick said initial X-rays were negative and that early tests had ruled out an Achilles injury. Reaves will undergo further imaging. His availability against the Phoenix Suns at 1 p.m. PST on Sunday is unconfirmed.
The official result, and the scoring lines that made it a seventh straight win and a league-best 11-2 record, are already covered in our Lakers-Bucks recap. This is not a second recap of that game. The useful questions now are medical and logistical: whether Reaves can play in Phoenix, whether Quentin Grimes can rejoin the backcourt after two straight absences with a sprained right finger, and how much of Wednesday’s late-game attrition follows the Lakers to the desert.
The Lakers’ latest official clip from Milwaukee, above, belongs to a night that still ended in a win. The injury list attached to that win is what Sunday will test.
What is known about Reaves, and what is not
The Times, with Thuc Nhi Nguyen reporting from Milwaukee, described Reaves landing awkwardly on a blocked dunk attempt in the third quarter. He stayed in the game despite appearing uncomfortable on the bench during a timeout, lasted about three more minutes, then appeared to aggravate the injury on a drive and asked to come out on the next possession. The official box lists him at 6-for-10 from the field, 1-for-3 from three and 5-for-5 at the line, with five assists, three rebounds and three steals. Those are the verified counting numbers. They do not tell us how the heel will respond to more imaging, or whether he will be listed as available, questionable or out once the Lakers file a report for Sunday.
Redick’s comments, as relayed by the Times, are the most precise official medical language available. Initial X-rays were negative. Initial tests have ruled out a potential Achilles injury. Further imaging is still to come. That combination is better than the worst-case fear, and it is not a clearance. Reaves had just returned from an illness that kept him out Monday in Atlanta. He is not on the league’s Thursday morning injury report because that document covers Friday’s games, and the Lakers do not play again until Sunday. Anyone treating him as a confirmed starter in Phoenix is ahead of the official paperwork.
Grimes, Sexton and a late ankle scare for Doncic
Grimes missed his second consecutive game Wednesday and was an official inactive with a right finger sprain, the same designation he carried into Milwaukee when he was listed as questionable earlier in the day. Redick told the Times that Grimes still had swelling, which could have affected the right-handed guard’s shooting. A possible return in Phoenix remains a hope, not a confirmation. The finger sprain originated Sunday in Detroit, and the Times had previously reported that X-rays on that injury were negative. Swelling two games later is the reason Thursday still cannot promote him from questionable-then-out to available.
The Lakers also absorbed two other late issues that should be watched, not upgraded. Collin Sexton needed stitches over his right eyebrow after colliding with Milwaukee’s Ryan Rollins with 6:51 left in the fourth quarter, the Times reported, and his departure forced Luka Doncic back into a game the Lakers already led by 20. About two and a half minutes later, Doncic turned his right ankle when Kyle Kuzma fouled him on a long two-point jumper. Staff members attended to him while the foul was reviewed for a possible flagrant. Doncic stayed in to shoot the free throw, then was subbed out. He said afterward that he felt fine and that the team would need a next-man-up mentality if Reaves is out. Feeling fine after a game is not the same as a Sunday medical listing, and his status should not be invented.
The official box also corrects one published detail from the Times recap. The Times listed Doncic with three steals; the official sheet lists two steals, five rebounds, five assists, five turnovers and 32 points in 32:20. The official steals total is the one used here.
Sunday in Phoenix is still a road game
The Lakers are 11-2, first in the NBA ahead of the 10-2 Boston Celtics and 10-2 San Antonio Spurs, and they have won seven in a row. Milwaukee fell to 1-11. Those standings are the backdrop, not the injury story. Sunday’s game at the Suns is the fourth stop on the trip that already included Detroit, Atlanta and Milwaukee. The Times described the Lakers as having finished their first extended trip and returning home for a brief respite before Phoenix. The schedule does not match that wording. Phoenix is still on the road, at 1 p.m. PST, after which Los Angeles comes home to host the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday, Nov. 17, and the Utah Jazz the following night.
Phoenix is 4-6 after beating the Clippers on Tuesday and was scheduled to host the Hornets on Thursday. Mark Williams is listed out with left shoulder surgery on the official Thursday morning report, but that listing is tied to Phoenix’s Thursday game, not automatically to Sunday against the Lakers. It should not be projected forward as a confirmed Sunday inactive.
Sandro Mamukelashvili scored 23 points off the bench for a second straight game, and Walker Kessler had 10 points and 11 rebounds, but those lines belong to the Milwaukee recap. The only reason they matter here is Redick’s recent emphasis on having enough ballhandling, rebounding and shooting on the floor at the same time. If Reaves is out and Grimes is still out, that problem returns. If both are available, the Lakers can close the trip with a healthier backcourt than they had in Atlanta or Milwaukee. Neither version is official yet.
Notes and conflicts
- Reaves. Left heel injury, did not return. Initial X-rays negative; Achilles ruled out, per Redick through the Times. Further imaging pending. Sunday status unconfirmed.
- Grimes. Officially inactive Wednesday, right finger sprain, with swelling still a factor. Phoenix availability unconfirmed.
- Doncic. Turned his right ankle late, said he felt fine. Sunday status unconfirmed. Official box: two steals, not the three listed in the Times recap.
- The trip. Sunday at Phoenix is still the fourth road game, not a home stand.
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