"Bro turned into Luka Doncic for the night" - Lakers fans amped over Austin Reaves' 45-pt career night with LeBron James sidelined

Austin Reaves scored a career-high 45 points to lead the LA Lakers to a victory against the Indiana Pacers. Fans shared their excitement about Reaves' monster performance on NBA's post on Instagram.

The Lakers were without its superstars LeBron James and Luka Doncic on Saturday. Reaves picked up the slack in scoring as LA won its fifth straight game.

Fans commented on a Reaves' highlight, which the NBA posted on Instagram. In the clip, Reaves drove to the basket for a tough layup for his 41st point. The Lakers were leading 115-103 at that point with less than four minutes to go. Fans mentioned their recently acquired 25-year-old superstar.

"Bro turned into Luka Doncic for the night," one fan wrote.

"Luka energy rubbing off on everyone," another fan said.

"lakers been moving mad different since luka pulled up," a fan commented.

Fans commented on Austin Reaves' career night (Credits: Instagram/@nba)

A couple of fans claimed that the 26-year-old Reaves is already one of NBA's greatest players. One fan compared Reaves to Naismith Basketball Hall of Famers Jerry West and Bob Cousy. Another fan suggested retiring Reaves' jersey.

"He's up there with the Jerry wests and the Bob Cousys," a fan said.

"I've seen enough, put number 15 in the rafters," another fan wrote.

Several fans shared their confidence in the Lakers:

"Lakers winning it all. We just beat the pacers without LeBron, Luka, and Mark Williams. Lakers in 4," one fan posted.

"We got the coldest white boys in the league lol," a fan wrote.

Fans commented on Austin Reaves' career night (Credits: Instagram/@nba)

Reaves also finished the game with seven rebounds, seven assists and three steals on 14-for-26 shooting (4-for-9 on 3-pointers) in 40 minutes. Reaves scored 14 points in the final frame to hold off any Pacers run. Coming into the game, Indiana had a 29-21 record and fourth in the Eastern Conference.

With his all-around game, Reaves has been a key starter for coach JJ Redick. In his fourth season in the NBA, he has started all 44 games he has played, averaging 18.5 points, 6.1 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 1.1 steals.

LeBron James reacts to Austin Reaves' career night

LeBron James also reacted to the career performance of Austin Reaves on Saturday. The four-time NBA champion shared several highlights of Reaves on his Instagram story. In a couple of posts, James called his LA Lakers teammate a "problem."

"Flat out problem!!! That boy," James wrote.

LeBron James' reaction to Austin Reaves' career night (Credits: Instagram/@kingjames)

According to reports, James sat out Saturday's game against the Indiana Pacers due to a left ankle soreness. After the win, the streaking LA improved to 31-19 and had won nine of its previous 10 games.

The Lakers' next game will be on Monday against the Utah Jazz, which reportedly will be Luka Doncic's debut for the purple and gold.