Austin Reaves Has Calf Soreness, Will Undergo MRI Friday

9:35 pm: Reaves will undergo an MRI on Friday, a source tells Woike (Twitter link).

8:51 pm: Austin Reaves has been ruled out for the second half of the Christmas Day matchup against Houston due to left calf soreness, according to the Lakers (Twitter link via Dan Woike of The Athletic).

The 27-year-old guard recorded 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting in just under 15 minutes prior to the announcement. Marcus Smart started the second half with Reaves out, tweets Jovan Buha.

It’s a worrisome development for the Lakers, as Reaves just returned to action on Tuesday after missing nearly two weeks with a left calf strain. The team referred to that initial strain as “mild.”

Reaves was off to a terrific start to his fifth season prior to sustaining the calf strain. In his first 21 games (all starts), he averaged 27.8 points, 6.7 assists, and 5.6 rebounds in 36.9 minutes per night, with a .503/.369/.875 shooting line.

Reaves came off the bench in Tuesday’s blowout loss in Phoenix, finishing with 17 points (on 6-of-11 shooting), two rebounds and two assists in 22 minutes. He also had three turnovers and the Lakers were outscored by 17 points when he was on the court (they lost by 24).

Los Angeles opened the season with an impressive 15-4 record but has looked shaky lately, especially defensively. The team will likely drop its third straight game on Thursday to fall to 19-10 — the Lakers currently trail the Rockets by 17 points with 8:16 left in the fourth quarter.