Los Angeles Lakers center Jaxson Hayes, left, Lakers’ guard Marcus Smart (36), Lakers’ guard Austin Reaves and guard Luke Kennard, right, react after a three-point basket by Lakers’ forward Dalton Knecht (4) during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Utah Jazz, April 12, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jayne Kamin-Oncea) (Jayne Kamin-Oncea, Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)
LOS ANGELES – 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 has been out since April 2 with strained oblique muscles, missing the final five games of the Lakers’ regular season and the first four games of the postseason. But Reaves returned to practice last week, and he warmed up for the previous two games in the series in Houston before being ruled out.
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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