EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — Austin Reaves and the Los Angeles Lakers will wait until game time Wednesday night to determine whether he is ready to return from nearly four weeks on the sidelines with a strained oblique muscle.
Reaves expressed cautious optimism Tuesday when he spoke to reporters for the first time since getting hurt April 2 at Oklahoma City. The Lakers' second-leading scorer was listed as questionable for the past two games of their first-round playoff series against Houston, but ultimately didn't play while Los Angeles split the contests to take a 3-1 series lead.
“I want to get back out there as fast as I can,” Reaves said at the Lakers' training complex. “I feel good. Trending in the right direction. I can't wait to get up (Wednesday) and attack another day.”
Lakers coach JJ Redick gave no hints about the team's mindset around Reaves, saying his availability will be "based on whether he’s good to go. We’ll talk through that.”
Reaves has tried to stay even-keeled during the second major injury absence of his otherwise outstanding season. He averaged 23.3 points, 5.5 assists and 4.7 rebounds, but played in just 51 games largely thanks to the oblique injury and a strained left calf that sidelined him for 19 straight games from Christmas to February.
Although Reaves finished the game in which he got hurt in Oklahoma City, he knew the injury was significant because he registered it over his own high pain tolerance. NBA scoring champion Luka Doncic also left that game with a strained hamstring, and neither high-scoring guard has played for the Lakers since then.
But their teammates have done much better than many expected without them, and Reaves is impressed.
“Basically the message from that day forward was that they were going to do everything as a team to give us an opportunity to come back and play, and they’ve done exactly what they said," Reaves said.
LeBron James and his supporting cast won the first three games of its first-round series and pushed the favored Rockets to the brink of elimination, even stealing Game 3 in overtime after trailing by six points with 30 seconds left in regulation.
“It’s been a lot of fun, just seeing the determination, the togetherness, and just the joy of them playing basketball together (and) competing every single possession," Reaves said. “It’s been a lot of fun. Me and Luka talk about it every time we’re watching — just how hard we’re playing, the attention to detail and the togetherness.”
Doncic isn't yet close to a return, but both teams could be without their top scorers once again in Game 5. Rockets star Kevin Durant has missed three of the four games in the series with injuries, and he didn't participate in practice in Houston on Tuesday before the team flew to Los Angeles.
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA
Los Angeles Lakers' Luka Doncic, left, and Austin Reaves chat as they sit on the bench during the second half in Game 1 of a first-round NBA playoffs basketball series against the Houston Rockets, Saturday, April 18, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The decision by the United Arab Emirates to leave the OPEC oil cartel shook up the 65-year-old alliance that produces some 40% of the world’s crude oil and exerts major influence over the price of energy around the globe.
Following its exit in May, the UAE said in an announcement Tuesday, it plans to carry on with its long-held goal of increasing crude production "in a gradual and measured manner, aligned with demand and market conditions.”
Right now, that’s academic as far as oil prices go, since Iran is still blocking the Strait of Hormuz, which means much of the oil from Persian Gulf producers such as the UAE cannot be exported. But the departure could have long-term effects on oil prices.
Here's what to know about the UAE's decision to leave OPEC:
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries was formed in Baghdad in September 1960 by Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. It has 12 members — counting the UAE — that hold more than 80% of the world’s proven oil reserves. Other members are Algeria, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Libya, Nigeria and the Republic of the Congo.
The group, headquartered in Vienna, aims to regulate oil prices by coordinating increases or decreases in production.
The goal has been to keep prices high enough so member governments can balance their budgets and reap the benefits of their natural resources — but not so high as to cause a recession in consuming countries or to halt energy-consuming activity, a phenomenon known as demand destruction.
That approach has sometimes drawn pushback from leaders in the U.S., where the price of gasoline is highly political. President Donald Trump at one point accused OPEC of “ripping off the rest of the world,” and his predecessor Joe Biden also badgered OPEC to produce more oil.
OPEC says its objective is “to coordinate and unify petroleum policies among member countries, in order to secure fair and stable prices for petroleum producers; an efficient, economic and regular supply of petroleum to consuming nations; and a fair return on capital to those investing in the industry.”
The creation of OPEC signaled a change from a world in which Western companies dominated the oil market to one where the countries with the reserves took more control over their resources and profits.
At times, OPEC’s production moves have had large effects on the global economy. In 1973, its Arab members imposed an oil embargo on the U.S. and other countries that supported Israel during the Yom Kippur War. Oil prices quadrupled, and long lines appeared at American gas stations.
In 2016, OPEC joined with another 10 oil-producing countries, the largest of which is Russia, to form an alliance known as OPEC+.
The UAE is seeking more independence in how much oil it sells. Cartels keep prices higher, but they restrict members' earnings and market share against non-cartel members. There has been longstanding friction between the UAE and Saudi Arabia, the biggest OPEC producer and de facto leader of the cartel.
One reason for producing more now: Experts think oil consumption will peak in coming years as the world transitions to renewable energy sources that do not emit carbon dioxide, the greenhouse gas that fuels climate change.
That means barrels underground could be worth more today than they might be later, when oil consumption declines, so restraining production might mean losing out on profits.
The UAE’s withdrawal removes one of OPEC’s few members with the ability to quickly increase production — the mechanism through which the cartel manages oil prices, said Jorge Leon, head of geopolitical analysis at Rystad Energy.
“A structurally weaker OPEC, with less spare capacity concentrated within the group, will find it increasingly difficult to calibrate supply and stabilize prices,” Leon said. “The net effect points to a more fragmented supply landscape and a potentially more volatile oil market over time as OPEC’s capacity to smooth imbalances diminishes.”
Iran is blocking the Strait of Hormuz, the passage for tankers carrying a fifth of the world's oil and gas supplies. That prevents much of the oil produced by Persian Gulf countries such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE from getting to customers. For the short term, that's the biggest issue affecting oil prices, which have risen sharply as a result.
If the UAE achieves its goal of producing more oil after the war, that could speed a return to prices levels more in line with those before the war, said Michael Brown, research strategist at Pepperstone foreign exchange brokerage.
“As for crude in the here and now, all that really matters is whether the Strait of Hormuz is open or closed,” he said. “At present, it’s essentially shut, tightening supply conditions day by day and probably seeing benchmarks continue to grind higher on a daily basis as well.”
FILE - The logo of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is displayed outside of OPEC's headquarters in Vienna, Austria, March 3, 2022. (AP Photo/Lisa Leutner, File)
