Austin Reaves returning to Lakers' lineup for Game 5 after missing 9 games with oblique injury
Austin Reaves is returning from a nine-game injury absence to try when the Los Angeles Lakers attempt to finish their first-round playoff series with the Houston Rockets in Game 5
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Austin Reaves is returning from a nine-game injury absence Wednesday night when the Los Angeles Lakers attempt to finish their first-round playoff series with the Houston Rockets in Game 5.
Reaves was injured in the same game in which NBA scoring champion Luka Doncic strained his right hamstrings. Doncic doesn't yet appear to be close to a return.
The Lakers won the first three games of the series without their top two scorers, but the Rockets took Game 4 to push the series back to Los Angeles.
Reaves averaged 23.3 points, 5.5 assists and 4.7 rebounds this season, but played in just 51 games thanks to the oblique injury and a strained left calf that sidelined him for 19 straight games from Christmas to February.
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