Austin Reaves' run continues with buzzer-beater to rescue Lakers

Austin Reaves wins it for the Lakers with a floater in the lane against the Timberwolves. (0:54)

MINNEAPOLIS -- Austin Reaves managed to one-up himself again Wednesday, capping a 28-point, 16-assist night by hitting a floater at the buzzer to give the Los Angeles Lakers a 116-115 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Reaves continued his dream week, in which he lifted L.A. while Luka Doncic (left lower leg contusion and left finger sprain) and LeBron James (sciatica) are sidelined by dropping a career-high 51 points with 11 rebounds and 9 assists in a win over the Sacramento Kings on Sunday and following that up with 41 points against the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday.

Reaves' winning score Wednesday came off a sideline inbounds pass near center court with 6.6 seconds left. He immediately split a double team by two players with All-Defensive Team credentials in Jaden McDaniels and Rudy Gobert at the top of the key, then drove into the lane and tossed in a floater from 12 feet while contorting his body to avoid colliding with Wolves guard Donte DiVincenzo, who was setting up to try to draw a charge.

Reaves said he "blacked out" after the ball fell through the net, and he sprinted down the court toward the Lakers' bench, where he was mobbed by his euphoric teammates.

"That guy is going to show up in the big moments," Lakers coach JJ Redick said. "I'm not surprised. He's done that many times in his career."

Reaves' 16 assists tied a career high for the five-year veteran, and his game-winning shot saved the Lakers after the Wolves used a 14-2 run in the last four minutes to take the lead with 10.2 seconds left on a Julius Randle driving score, erasing what was once a 20-point, second-half lead for L.A.

"Everybody is looking at me, and in those situations, you have to be calm, be confident and lead your guys through [it]," Reaves said. "We were up [by] 10 [points] or so late, and they went on a run. ... It's hard to not kind of crumble in those situations. But you got to keep energy high, you got to keep the spirit high."

He secured L.A.'s second win of the season against Minnesota, the team that knocked the Lakers out of the first round of the playoffs in the spring.

Reaves said that postseason upset -- L.A. was the No. 3 seed and Minnesota was No. 6 -- was on his mind coming into the night. The last time the Lakers played at Target Center in April, Reaves missed a potential tying 3 from the right corner at the buzzer and L.A. fell down 3-1 in the series.