DETROIT (AP) — Austin Reaves thought he had a very fortunate night against the Detroit Pistons.
He was the only one in the Los Angeles Lakers locker room who thought so.
On a night when the Lakers were playing without red-hot Luka Doncic, Reaves scored 43 points against one of the league's best defenses in a 121-116 win.
“I was a lucky basketball player tonight,” said Reaves, who went 14 of 27 from the floor, including 4 of 6 on 3-pointers, and added a perfect 11-for-11 from the free-throw line.
Walker Kessler, who finished with 12 points and 16 rebounds, disagreed with his teammate.
“Luka is an incredible player, and I think there are times when he's playing that A.R. kind of has to take a secondary role,” he said. "But you could see tonight that he's a very capable player.
“It doesn't matter if we get a Luka game or an A.R. game — we're still going to win.”
Reaves had big shoes to fill, as the Lakers needed him to step up in place of the league's hottest player. In his last four games, all Los Angeles wins, Donic was averaging 45 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.
That's a tough scoreline to match, but the 28-year-old came close. He had five rebounds and four assists in 36:41 with only one turnover.
“He’s a heck of a playmaker, a heck of a scorer, and a great competitor,” Kessler said. “It's just incredible to play alongside he and Luka, because they hit some really, really tough shots.”
He saved his toughest for last.
The Pistons trailed by 26 points in the second quarter but were only down 109-104 going into the final minute. The Lakers couldn't get into their offense, and Reaves ended up with the ball as the shot clock was about to expire.
He flipped up a one-legged, off-balance 3-pointer that went through the net to erase Detroit's last chance.
“That was a terrible shot.” he said. "When I stepped back to shoot, I thought it looked like one of those ridiculous shots that Luka makes. I didn't even try to make it, and then it went in.
“Now that looks like a good shot in the box score, but it was 100% lucky.”
Reaves quite often points to luck and good fortune when talking about himself, but that underrates the work he's put into just having an NBA career.
After playing two years at Wichita State and a year at Oklahoma, he declared for the 2021 draft. He went undrafted, but only because that's what he wanted. The Pistons, victims of his big night on Sunday, were planning to pick him with the 42nd pick, but he declined in order to sign as a free agent with the Lakers.
The Pistons ended up taking Isaiah Livers, who played 130 NBA games and is now playing in Japan.
Meanwhile, Reaves came into the game averaging 23.0 points per game during Doncic's four-game hot streak, then found another gear against the team he shunned.
“There's never a dull moment around here,” he joked. “The good thing is that I didn't play a perfect game tonight. There's always room to get better.”
See AP’s full NBA coverage here
Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) defends against a shot by Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves (15) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)
Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves (15) takes a jump shot against Detroit Pistons guard Ausar Thompson (9) during the second half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)
President Donald Trump in his first major interview since his party lost control of the House and Senate in the midterm elections said he thinks his administration was too aggressive on deportations and that he thinks he can work with Democrats in the new Congress on some kind of immigration deal.
Trump said his deportation policy was part of the reason Republicans lost, telling CBS’s “60 Minutes” in an interview that aired on Sunday: “I think it might be too tough, yeah.”
He added that he thinks he could reach an agreement with the new Democratic majority. “The deal would be we would work something out. And I think it’s something -- I think that’s something that’s actually doable,” he said in the interview.
Trump did not give specifics about what that deal would look like — and shortly after taping the interview on Friday, Trump named the key architect of his hard-line immigration agenda, Stephen Miller, as his new chief of staff.
“Trump says his immigration crackdown went too far,” Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer scoffed on social media Sunday after the interview aired. “Apparently, his solution was to put the man responsible for it in charge of the White House. That’s not a course correction. That’s a promotion.”
The president's immigration crackdown was a prominent feature of his return to office with major operations in multiple cities sending arrests soaring. Two U.S. citizens — Renee Good and Alex Pretti — were killed by federal officers during protests against the operations.
Democrats have said oversight of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security is a priority for the new Congress.
Trump said he believes that “killers” and “drug dealers” in the country illegally should be deported, but suggested he was open to the idea of a deal that would let others stay “if they’re good people working in a landscaping company, or working in a hotel, or doing something, right? And in some cases, paying taxes.”
On the race among Republicans to succeed him for the 2028 presidential election, Trump hinted at staying neutral.
Asked whether he’d endorse a potential successor, the president said “probably, not necessarily.”
“We have a tremendous bench. I have so many people that I have great relationships with,” Trump said in the interview.
Asked about possible candidates other than Vice President JD Vance, Trump only named Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is viewed as a possible 2028 contender.
“I think Marco’s great,” Trump said. “But there are many others and I’d rather not mention their names. There’s some senators that are excellent. I know ’em all, I like ’em a lot.
“So I may or may not get involved. I don’t know. Maybe I’m better off not getting involved,” Trump said.
During the midterms, Democrats sought to make the president’s personal wealth a campaign issue. About half of voters nationally said government corruption was “crucial” for their vote for Congress, according to the AP Voter Poll.
Asked how his net worth went up by $3 billion since returning to the White House, Trump said he doesn’t pay much attention to it and said his sons look after the family business.
“I devote almost no time to my net worth. I don’t care. I make — I have a lotta money, and far more than I ever thought I’d have. And I guess it’s gone up. I don’t even know,” he said.
Trump was asked whether he thinks people from foreign countries investing in the company he co-owns with his sons are trying to buy influence. “I don’t know. But that’s true — look, every president has a problem,” he said.
Trump, who survived an assassination attempt while campaigning for reelection in 2024 and has lashed out against his political foes, was asked whether he could forgive his enemies. He said it would be easy to say yes.
But he added: “I probably cannot do that, no, because I do hate some of my enemies, and I always will.”
President Donald Trump speaks with reporters before boarding Air Force One, at President Donald J. Trump International Airport in West Palm Beach, Fla., Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
