Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves isn't using his extended injury absence as an excuse following another rough shooting performance in Tuesday's Game 1 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
"I mean, nobody cares about that. I got to go out there and play better," Reaves told reporters postgame, including ESPN's Dave McMenamin.
Appearing in just his third game after missing a month with a Grade 2 left oblique strain, Reaves shot just 3-of-16 in the Western Conference semifinal opener.
The 27-year-old is averaging 15 points on 30.4% shooting, including an 11.8% clip from deep, since returning to the lineup in Game 5 of the Lakers' opening-round series versus the Houston Rockets.
Turnovers have also been an issue for Reaves, who coughed up the ball four times against the Thunder.
Reaves went 1-of-4 from the field and committed three turnovers when Cason Wallace served as his primary defender.
Oklahoma City had similar success in the regular season guarding Reaves, limiting him to 14.7 points per contest and 23.1% shooting from deep over three meetings.
"Obviously, the easy thing (to say) is to make more shots," Reaves said of what he needs to do in Game 2. "I got to my spots multiple times and just missed a couple of easy shots. But for the most part, you got to limit the turnovers.
"They pressure the ball really well, just got to give us an opportunity to get a shot on goal every possession."
Game 2 tips off Thursday at 9:30 p.m. ET in Oklahoma City.
