Lakers lose Austin Reaves, then fall to Rockets for third consecutive loss

Broderick Turner, Los Angeles Times on Dec 25, 2025

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LOS ANGELES — The Lakers felt good about their starting lineup Thursday when Luka Doncic and Rui Hachimura returned from injury to restore their normal starting unit for only the seventh time this season.

But the good times didn't last long. Coming out of halftime down 10 points to the Houston Rockets, the Lakers announced Austin Reaves wouldn't play in the second half because of left calf soreness.

With another apparent setback for Reaves adding to the Lakers' desperate search for continuity, the team put up another inconsistent performance on defense in a 119-96 loss to the Rockets at Crypto.com Arena.

The Lakers, who've lost three in a row for the first time this season, allowed the Rockets to shoot 53% from the field. Amen Thompson led the way with 26 points and Kevin Durant scored 25 as the Rockets out-rebounded the Lakers 48-25.

Reaves missed three games with a left calf strain before returning against Phoenix on Tuesday. He scored 17 points off the bench in the Lakers' loss to the Suns.

Against the Rockets, Reaves started and played 15 minutes in the first half, scoring 12 points on five-for-eight shooting.

Reaves entered Thursday averaging 27.3 points per game, ranking him 11th in league scoring.

Doncic, who had been out with a lower left leg contusion, had 25 points and seven assists and LeBron James had 18 points. Hachimura (right groin injury management) didn't score in his 28 minutes.

With so many players rotating through the lineup because of injuries, the Lakers have struggled to find solutions to their defensive issues.

They entered Thursday allowing 117.4 points per game, 19th most in the league. They were allowing the 26th highest field-goal percentage (48.4) and the highest 3-point shooting percentage (40.1). They were next-to-last in rebounds, averaging 40.1 per game.

That was a real issue against the Rockets team that entered the game first in offensive rebounds (16.1).

And in this game, the Rockets got 17 offensive rebounds.

The Lakers didn't have key role players Jaxson Hayes (left ankle soreness) and Gabe Vincent (lumbar back strain), adding to their woes.

"It's the modern NBA where there's injuries and then there's not a lot of time to practice," Lakers coach JJ Redick said. "So, when you have continuity, you can kind of capture what you're trying to do and you feel comfortable and good about it."