Luka Doncic sat out Sunday’s game against Detroit with tightness in his lower back, but Austin Reaves did a lot of Doncic-type things in the Lakers’ road victory, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN. Reaves took over the primary scoring role and shredded the league’s top-ranked defense for 43 points on 14-of-27 shooting.

“Guys have to step up when someone’s averaging 40,” Collin Sexton said of Doncic, who’s at 40.1 PPG for the season. “You got to fill the shoes and be ready to impact winning. And I felt like we did that tonight, and AR picked those shoes up and he wore them.”

The Lakers improved to 9-2 and have won both their games without Doncic, even though he’s been putting up MVP-level numbers. Coach J.J. Redick stated that he’s not concerned about Doncic’s back becoming a long-term issue and indicated that he’s likely to return for tonight’s game in Atlanta.

“I mean, Luka game, Austin game: Lakers win,” Walker Kessler said. “I don’t know if it really feels different. They’re both incredible players to play alongside, and they hit some really, really tough shots.”

There’s more on the Los Angeles teams:

• Redick told reporters that Quentin Grimes “banged his finger” during Sunday’s game, but x-rays were negative, per Dan Woike of The Athletic (Twitter link). Grimes, who has been a valuable part of the bench unit in his first season with the Lakers, replaced Doncic in the starting lineup on Sunday.
• The Clippers picked up a much-needed win over New Orleans on Sunday, snapping a seven-game losing streak that had them near the bottom of the West, notes Janis Carr of The Orange County Register (subscriber link). Darius Garland talked about being “desperate” to get a victory to turn the season around, and coach Tyronn Lue was happy to see his team extend its lead late in the contest, rather than letting another game slip away. “We kept our composure and got tougher instead of going another way and thinking, ‘Oh, here we go again,’” Lue said. “… We had the right intent, and we got our mojo back.”
• Injured Clippers Brandon Ingram and Yanic Konan Niederhauser are both playing five-on-five at practice, but they won’t accompany the team to Phoenix for Tuesday’s game, reporter Justin Russo tweets. Isaiah Jackson is considered day-to-day with a groin issue and didn’t play on Sunday, Russo adds, while Blake Wesley returned to the team’s G League affiliate in San Diego after his hardship 10-day contract expired.