Austin Reaves hopes to return to Lakers for pivotal Game 5 vs Rockets after nearly 4 weeks out

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EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — Austin Reaves and the Los Angeles Lakers will wait until game time Wednesday night to determine whether he is ready to return from nearly four weeks on the sidelines with a strained oblique muscle.

Reaves expressed cautious optimism Tuesday when he spoke to reporters for the first time since getting hurt April 2 at Oklahoma City. The Lakers' second-leading scorer was listed as questionable for the past two games of their first-round playoff series against Houston, but ultimately didn't play while Los Angeles split the contests to take a 3-1 series lead.

“I want to get back out there as fast as I can,” Reaves said at the Lakers' training complex. “I feel good. Trending in the right direction. I can't wait to get up (Wednesday) and attack another day.”

Lakers coach JJ Redick gave no hints about the team's mindset around Reaves, saying his availability will be "based on whether he’s good to go. We’ll talk through that.”

Reaves has tried to stay even-keeled during the second major injury absence of his otherwise outstanding season. He averaged 23.3 points, 5.5 assists and 4.7 rebounds, but played in just 51 games largely thanks to the oblique injury and a strained left calf that sidelined him for 19 straight games from Christmas to February.

Although Reaves finished the game in which he got hurt in Oklahoma City, he knew the injury was significant because he registered it over his own high pain tolerance. NBA scoring champion Luka Doncic also left that game with a strained hamstring, and neither high-scoring guard has played for the Lakers since then.

But their teammates have done much better than many expected without them, and Reaves is impressed.

“Basically the message from that day forward was that they were going to do everything as a team to give us an opportunity to come back and play, and they’ve done exactly what they said," Reaves said.

LeBron James and his supporting cast won the first three games of its first-round series and pushed the favored Rockets to the brink of elimination, even stealing Game 3 in overtime after trailing by six points with 30 seconds left in regulation.

“It’s been a lot of fun, just seeing the determination, the togetherness, and just the joy of them playing basketball together (and) competing every single possession," Reaves said. “It’s been a lot of fun. Me and Luka talk about it every time we’re watching — just how hard we’re playing, the attention to detail and the togetherness.”

Doncic isn't yet close to a return, but both teams could be without their top scorers once again in Game 5. Rockets star Kevin Durant has missed three of the four games in the series with injuries, and he didn't participate in practice in Houston on Tuesday before the team flew to Los Angeles.

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