11/03/2026 01:39:00
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11/03 01:38 CST Luka Doncic is off to a spectacular offensive start for the
Lakers with a string of 40-point games
Luka Doncic is off to a spectacular offensive start for the Lakers with a
string of 40-point games
By GREG BEACHAM
AP Sports Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) --- Although Luka Doncic is in his ninth NBA season as one of
the sport's most dynamic scorers, he has rarely been better than this.
Two weeks into the Los Angeles Lakers' first season following LeBron James'
departure, Doncic is scorching opponents with one brilliant offensive
performance after another.
Doncic even did it back-to-back over the past two days, putting up 45 points
and 15 rebounds in a win over Toronto on Sunday night before dropping 42
points, 13 assists and seven rebounds in another comfortable victory over Miami
on Monday night.
"It feels good, but when we win, it feels way better," Doncic said. "That's the
only important stuff. Obviously, it feels good (to score), but when you win by
20 against a team like Miami, it's really awesome, especially on a
back-to-back."
Doncic has scored at least 37 points in five consecutive games, topping 40 in
four of those outings. He has made 34 3-pointers in that stretch while hitting
53.1% of his shots overall.
And fittingly for a season that began with a dramatic half-court bucket over a
trash-talking opponent, Doncic is lighting up the scoreboard with style and
flair to spare.
He's hitting tough shots from all over the court, throwing creative passes and
rebounding with relish. As his teammates have repeatedly pointed out, Doncic is
even giving a serious defensive effort that hasn't always been part of his
game, culminating in five steals against the Raptors.
"It's crazy," Lakers guard Quentin Grimes said. "It just feels like almost
anything he shoots --- whether it's a circus shot, or whether it's a regular
step-back 3, or it's a tough look --- it seems like everything he shoots is
going to go in. It's kind of surreal. I don't think I've ever been on the court
when everything somebody shoots, you think it's going in. It's kind of crazy
the heater he's on, for sure."
Doncic has won two of the past three NBA scoring titles, and he's the early
leader again by a wide margin after this prolific surge that began with a
52-point performance at Utah. He had 41 and 37 in his next two games --- both
losses --- before his back-to-back spree at the Lakers' downtown arena.
The Lakers are off to a 6-2 start despite having nine new players on their
roster after another summer of turnover, but they're already coming together
behind their Slovenian superstar.
"It feels like a supernova, but it also feels normal," Lakers coach JJ Redick
said. "We live on a spaceship, and we're going at the speed of light at all
times when he's on the court. When he has it going, it's pick your poison,
because he can just make any shot. And then you start putting two on the ball,
and everybody else is the beneficiary of that. He's a terrific offensive
engine."
Indeed, opponents have reacted to Doncic's roll by blitzing him with two or
three defenders well outside the 3-point arc. The Lakers are already making the
obvious adjustments to that strategy: Doncic repeatedly passed out of trouble
and found his teammates in better positions over the last two games, and those
teammates relished their open 3-pointers.
Los Angeles went 37 for 80 beyond the arc in the past two games while scoring
269 total points.
"It's not just me, it's everybody," Doncic said. "Everybody is in the right
spots and shooting with confidence."
Indeed, the Lakers racked up 39 assists against the Heat, the most they've had
in a game since Redick took over in 2024. The Lakers also lead the league in
team field goal percentage, and new center Walker Kessler is the NBA's most
accurate individual shooter thanks to the dozens of lobs already thrown to him
by Doncic and their teammates.
While James' playmaking and leadership could be missed later in the year, this
Lakers roster built around Doncic is getting an early taste of just how good it
can be.
"It's fun," said Austin Reaves, who had 27 points against Miami. "Luka is doing
incredible things, and when he's doing that, it just opens up the floor for
everybody else to play free and confident, and I feel like that's what we did
tonight."
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