As NBA teams get into gear this preseason, Monday’s Lakers-Nets game featured an exciting shootout between two rising, young guards who already appear to be in midseason form.
Lakers guard Austin Reaves and Nets guard Cam Thomas put on a show for the fans in Brooklyn as L.A. led, 82–79, midway through the third quarter. A Thomas three-pointer would even the score, 82-82, which Reaves and the Lakers quickly responded to.
After bringing the ball up the floor, Reaves worked his way into a three of his own, only for Thomas to come down and drill another three.
Reaves, seemingly not to be outdone, fired back with another three-pointer on the next possession, which Thomas matched with a third bucket from beyond the arc. Reaves would get the last laugh after drawing a foul on, none other than Thomas on a drive to the rim, giving the thrilling back-and-forth a fitting ending.
1 minute and 12 seconds of Austin Reaves and Cam Thomas trying to light each other on fire pic.twitter.com/pQjUuboExH
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) October 10, 2023
Reaves and Thomas’s duel added to solid nights for both players with the Nets opening the preseason and the Lakers in their second preseason game.
Thomas’s 26 points led all scorers, but Reaves’s 18 points, the third-most on the night, eventually helped provide the decided edge as L.A. claimed a 129–126 win.
