However, it was Deandre Ayton who drew headlines — and concern — for the wrong reasons. Ayton had a strong first half, scoring nine points on 4-for-6 shooting, but his absence in the second half puzzled fans. Head coach JJ Redick opted to start Jaxson Hayes after halftime, and when cameras panned to the Lakers’ bench, Ayton was nowhere to be seen.

Magic Johnson shouted out Austin Reaves for leading the Lakers to a win last night after the Dodgers lost.

Austin Reaves swished the 12-foot winner in the lane right before the buzzer to finish with 28 points and lift the Los Angeles Lakers to a 116-115 victory after the Minnesota Timberwolves had taken the lead with a late 14-2 run.

The Los Angeles Lakers entered Sunday night’s road matchup against the Sacramento Kings without their two best players: LeBron James remained out with sciatica, while Luka Dončić was sidelined with a finger sprain and lower left leg contusion.

The Lakers and Timberwolves square off in the small four-game slate for a rematch of the season-opener. Los Angeles beat Utah last night (105-104) behind LeBron James (27, 14) and Anthony Davis' (33,