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Luka Doncic sat this one out after averaging 45 points, nine rebounds and eight assists in a four-game winning run, and the Lakers needed someone else: Reaves gave them 43 points, five rebounds and four assists in 36 minutes at Little Caesars Arena.
Filling in for the league's hottest player
Los Angeles played this game without Luka Doncic, who had averaged 45 points, nine rebounds and eight assists across the four previous wins, every one of them a Lakers victory.
Reaves completed the assignment in full: 43 points, 11 of 11 free throws, one turnover and 36:41 on the floor.
A 23.0-point average over the previous four games said Reaves was already carrying more; against Detroit he simply took the shots as well.
Walker Kessler, who finished with 12 points and 16 rebounds, said Reaves sometimes accepts a secondary role when Doncic plays and that this performance showed how capable he is.
Reaves played two seasons at Wichita State and one at Oklahoma before declaring for the 2021 draft, where the Pistons planned to take him 42nd; he declined so he could sign as a free agent with the Lakers, and Detroit moved on to Isaiah Livers, who played 130 NBA games and now plays in Japan.
From plus-26 to a five-point scare
The Lakers led by as many as 26 points in the second quarter, held the advantage for 97 percent of the game and never trailed, with no lead changes recorded.
The Pistons drew within five at 109-104 in the last minute, forcing the ball to Reaves with the shot clock running out.
Reaves rose for a one-legged, off-balance three that went in, then called it a terrible shot that looked like one of the ridiculous attempts Doncic makes.
The Pistons outshot Los Angeles from the arc, 19 makes to 11, and still spent the entire evening behind.
Notably, Daniss Jenkins scored 31 points off the bench on 8-of-15 three-point shooting with five rebounds and four assists, and Kevin Huerter added 24 points and five blocks.
Kessler's 16 boards and 58 points in the paint
The second-chance work was Los Angeles' quiet edge: Kessler's 16 rebounds included seven offensive, and the Lakers scored 58 points in the paint.
Meanwhile, two 17-point nights from Williams and Sexton, both arriving off the bench, were the next scoring lines after Reaves' 43.
Cade Cunningham finished with 14 points on 6-of-15 shooting, eight assists and four turnovers for a minus-15 rating.
Detroit owned eight offensive rebounds from Reed and 11 from Thompson and still lost the glass by a single board.
In the wider picture, the Lakers improved to 9-2 and travelled to Atlanta for the Monday-night game that followed, while the Pistons dropped to 6-3 and hosted Washington the same evening.
Editor's take: Reaves' 43 is the kind of line a player files under luck; 11-of-11 from the free-throw line is not a coin flip.
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