Austin Reaves’ fourth-quarter heroics drew the attention of a player who has had plenty of them himself.
The Los Angeles Lakers swingman Reaves ignited his team to victory in Game 1 of their first-round series against the Memphis Grizzlies with a strong final frame. Reaves scored 14 of his 23 total points in the fourth quarter, including a burst of nine in a row in the final minutes.
After one decisive bucket, Reaves confidently declared, “I’m HIM!” as the two teams went to timeout.
“I’M HIM!!” – Austin Reaves 🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/biVbkwYlkB
— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) April 16, 2023
Austin Reaves: “I’m Him.” 🗣️🗣️🗣️
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) April 16, 2023
One guy who agreed with Reaves was Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard, who tweeted, “Reeves like that.” Lillard then corrected himself by tweeting out the proper spelling of Reaves’ name.
Reeves like that .
— Damian Lillard (@Dame_Lillard) April 16, 2023
My bad … Reaves like that 🙏🏽
— Damian Lillard (@Dame_Lillard) April 16, 2023
The undrafted Reaves has emerged as a dependable NBA starter in his second career season with his shifty ball-handling skills, high-intensity defense, and ability to draw fouls at a high rate. The Lakers have a special couple of role players in him and Rui Hachimura (who poured in 29 off the bench himself against Memphis).
As for the Grizzlies, their 128-112 loss on Sunday is a big concern. They have now lost their homecourt advantage for the series to the Lakers and also just got some rough news on one of their most important players.
