Lakers Stretch Their Win Streak to Seven in Milwaukee, but Dončić and Reaves Leave With Injury Scares

The Los Angeles Lakers are winning so often right now that the final score has almost stopped being the headline. On Wednesday night in Milwaukee they beat the Bucks 123-112 for their seventh straight victory, improving to 11-2 and staying on top of the league standings, according to the Los Angeles Times. The bigger story walked out of the arena with the training staff.

Austin Reaves limped off in the third quarter with a left heel injury, and Luka Dončić went down holding his right ankle late in the fourth with the game already decided. Coach JJ Redick's first word on both players was encouraging, but the Lakers will not have the full picture on Reaves until more tests come back.

Dončić did what he has done all season, finishing with 32 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals. Reaves added 18 points, five assists and three steals before he left. The quiet lift came from Sandro Mamukelashvili, who scored 23 points off the bench for the second game in a row, the Times reported.

By the fourth quarter Los Angeles had stretched its lead past 20 points, according to Yahoo Sports, and ClutchPoints described the game as well in hand by the time the late scare arrived.

The Lakers did it shorthanded, too. Quentin Grimes missed his second straight game with a sprained finger on his right hand, and Collin Sexton headed to the locker room with a towel pressed to his forehead after a collision with Bucks guard Ryan Rollins, the Times reported. Reaves himself had missed the previous game against Atlanta with an illness.

Reaves' trouble began on a blocked dunk attempt in the third quarter, when he came down awkwardly. He sat on the bench with a towel over his head, played about three more minutes, and then took himself out, with the Lakers calling timeout at the 5:20 mark of the third so he could head for the tunnel, according to the Times. The team ruled him out for the rest of the night with a left heel injury.

Redick said X-rays were negative and that further imaging is planned. Initial tests ruled out an Achilles injury, the Times reported, and ClutchPoints, citing ESPN's Dave McMenamin, said there is no concern about the Achilles. That is a relief worth noting: Reaves came into the night averaging 25.3 points while shooting 50.8 percent from the field and 41.3 percent from 3-point range.

Dončić's moment came with 4:25 left in the game. Rising for a long jumper, he was fouled by Kyle Kuzma and came down on Kuzma's foot, rolling his right ankle. He stayed on the floor for several moments, then got up to shoot his free throw before leaving the game. Officials reviewed Kuzma's closeout for a possible flagrant foul but did not upgrade it.

Redick called it a "slight tweak" and said he believes Dončić will be fine. With the outcome settled, ClutchPoints reported, pulling him was a precaution.

Thirteen games into an 82-game season, this Lakers team has already shown it can win more than one way. It has won on nights when Dončić carries the load, and it won Wednesday with two rotation players out and a third banged up, because the bench answered the bell.

Mamukelashvili's back-to-back 23-point nights are the kind of story that rarely makes the highlight shows. Players like him spend most of the year doing the unglamorous work: staying ready, learning the system, waiting for a coach to call their number. Scripture tells us to work at whatever we do with all our heart, and that is what a team looks like when it is built the right way. The stars get the headlines, but the guys at the end of the bench are often the ones who keep a streak alive.

There is also a lesson in how the Lakers handled the late minutes. With a 20-point lead, Redick did not gamble with his best player's ankle, and the medical staff moved quickly on Reaves. A team that is 11-2 has earned the right to feel good about itself. Every contender also learns, sooner or later, that health in November decides seeding in April.

The road trip wraps up Sunday in Phoenix, and a four-game homestand follows next week, according to the Times and ClutchPoints. The results of Reaves' imaging will shape that stretch more than anything else. If the heel checks out and Dončić's ankle is as minor as Redick believes, the Lakers will head to the desert looking for an eighth straight win with Dončić and Reaves both back in the lineup.

If not, Los Angeles will find out how deep this team really is. Wednesday night suggested the answer might be deeper than most people thought.