Los Angeles Lakers center Deandre Ayton has expressed his admiration for teammate Austin Reaves’ scoring performance following the team’s recent win over the Dallas Mavericks. In that game, Luka Doncic contributed 35 points and 11 assists, while Reaves led the team with 38 points. Ayton, returning from a knee contusion, added 17 points and eight rebounds.
Ayton discussed his developing chemistry with Reaves in pick-and-roll situations after the game. “I’m in these pick-and-rolls with him, and the fire tends to go from orange to blue,” Ayton said. “I was telling him, ‘I’m starting to know when you want me over there to set the screens.’ I can see the red fire, and the red fire means I’m gonna play normal. And then the blue fire. You know blue is hotter than the red so, you tell me. You see the blue fire, don’t go near him, let him do his thing and that’s what he did.”
Reaves made 12 of his 15 shots during the game. Ayton commented on how effective Reaves was at getting into the paint and making difficult shots against taller defenders: “He had times where he should’ve got some and-ones, he should’ve had 50,” Ayton added. “He’s making some tough buckets man. Like some mean, aggressive buckets under the rim where us trees are down there and he’s making some tough baskets and I’m just like ‘You a dawg,’ you know what I’m sayin? Like I’m running back just telling him, ‘Yo, you a dawg. You making some tough baskets.’ You just gotta put your hats off to him. I’ve been seeing it since I’ve got here.”
Ayton noted that as their understanding improves on court dynamics—knowing when to screen or clear out—it will help both players perform better together.
The Lakers’ win over Dallas also secured them a perfect record in group play for West Group B of the Emirates NBA Cup at 4-0. Head coach JJ Redick emphasized maintaining focus as they prepare for a challenging stretch of games now that group play has concluded.
