The Los Angeles Lakers' Sunday win over the New York Knicks got them their 39th win of the regular season, and kept them at the fifth spot in the Western Conference standings. 

In the game, Austin Reaves finished as LA's second-leading scorer with 25 points on 50% shooting from three-point range and the field overall. It was the most points he's scored since February 20 against the Clippers. 

Reaves was relentless all night on offense, hunting his shot and making life difficult for the Knicks' defenders. He got to the free throw line seven times for a second consecutive game. In the postgame press conference, JJ Redick spoke glowingly of Austin. 

"We just kept telling him, 'touch the paint, touch the paint, touch the paint,'" Redick said. "He was really strong today. When people talk about physicality, we always talk about physicality on defense. But you need physicality on offense." 

Plenty of fans know that a hallmark of generating good offensive looks involves touching the paint, as Redick points out. That's where Reaves thrived on Sunday, getting downhill and putting pressure on the rim, forcing defenses to react. 

The physicality piece is arguably just as important. It's one thing to impose your will on the game physically from a defensive standpoint, but doing so on offense puts it in your opponents' heads that you mean business when you have the rock in your hands. 

"I thought he was very physical offensively, and that allowed him to score at the basket, it allowed him to draw fouls," Redick said. "And they've got a lot of size, and they're a big team, and he did a great job." 

The Knicks are one of the more physically imposing teams in the entire league. Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges are all long, athletic defenders capable of making life miserable for smaller guards who aren't willing to play through contact.

The fact that Reaves thrived against this roster says everything about where his game is right now. He's not just a shooter spotting up off Luka Doncic, but a legitimate second option who can manufacture his own offense and put pressure on defenses in multiple ways.

Getting to the free throw line seven times in back to back games reflects a deliberate and disciplined approach to attack the basket, one that Redick has clearly emphasized in practice. 

For a Lakers team that will need contributions from all its top guys during a potential playoff run, Reaves finding this level of consistency at the right time of the season is as encouraging a sign as any. If he can sustain this into April, LA becomes a genuinely difficult out for anyone in the West.