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The LA Lakers picked up a crucial 121-110 road win over the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night. The win marked a revenge game for the Lakers, who fell to Chicago 118-108 in their last game on Sunday.
Wednesday's game also provided LA with an opportunity to get back at former Lakers guard Patrick Beverley. The Bulls veteran notably mocked Lakers star forward LeBron James with a “too small” gesture late in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s matchup.
Lakers second-year guard Austin Reaves surely didn’t forget that moment as he made sure to return the favor in the fourth quarter of Wednesday’s rematch.
Reaves scored a floater over Beverley with 2:53 remaining in the fourth and promptly did the “too small” gesture toward Beverley. You can watch it here:
This led NBA fans on Twitter to have some fun with the Bulls veteran, who finished with zero points on 0-for-5 shooting in 25 minutes. Meanwhile, others made jokes about Reaves’ impressive play as of late. The Lakers guard finished with 19 points, two rebounds and five assists on 87.5% shooting.
“LeBron’s right-hand man,” one fan said of Reaves.
“The Ancestors ain’t happy w/ Pat Bev tonight!!” another said of Beverley.
Here are some more of the top fan reactions to Reaves’ celebration against Beverley:
LA Lakers get back to .500
During Wednesday’s win over the Chicago Bulls, the LA Lakers were led by star big man Anthony Davis. Davis finished with 38 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks on 65.0% shooting. LeBron James added 25 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals on 52.6% shooting.
Meanwhile, Chicago was led by veteran big man Nikola Vucevic with 29 points, 12 rebounds and six assists on 75.0% shooting.
Following their win, the Lakers (38-38, eighth in the West) are back at .500 with six games remaining. LA is now just 1.5 games behind the sixth-seeded Golden State Warriors (40-37) and still has a chance to avoid the play-in.
However, Darvin Ham's team are also just 1.5 games ahead of the 11th-placed Dallas Mavericks (37-40). So there is still a chance that the Lakers could miss the playoffs entirely.
As for the Bulls (36-40, 10th in the East), they are clinging to the final play-in spot in the Eastern Conference. Chicago is two games ahead of the 11th-placed Washington Wizards (34-42) with six games remaining.
The LA Lakers will next play on Friday against the Minnesota Timberwolves (39-37, seventh in the West). This will mark another crucial game for LA as the Timberwolves are the team directly ahead of them in the standings.
The Chicago Bulls, meanwhile, will next play on Friday against the Charlotte Hornets (26-51, 14th in the East).
