Slovenian guard Luka Doncic continued his historic run in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 124-118 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers in an NBA Cup tie on Friday night.
Doncic scored 40+ points in the Lakers’ fourth straight win, joining Kobe Bryant as the only player in franchise history to do so.
The NBA announced:
LUKA JUST DROPPED 53 POINTS 🚨
🪄 53 PTS
🪄 5 REB
🪄 5 AST
🪄 5 3PM
🪄
@emirates
NBA Cup Group Play WFIRST LAKER SINCE KOBE BRYANT (JAN 10-14, 2012) TO SCORE 40+ PTS IN 4 STRAIGHT GAMES 🤯
🪄 53 PTS 🪄 5 REB 🪄 5 AST 🪄 5 3PM 🪄 @emirates NBA Cup Group Play W
FIRST LAKER SINCE KOBE BRYANT (JAN 10-14, 2012) TO SCORE 40+ PTS IN 4 STRAIGHT GAMES 🤯
Doncic’s 361 points through nine games are the most by any player since Wilt Chamberlain in 1962-63, the NBA announced.
361 POINTS FOR LUKA THROUGH 9 GAMES 🤯
Luka Dončić (40.1 PPG) joins Wilt Chamberlain as the only players across NBA history to average 40+ PPG through his first nine games of a season.
Luka Dončić (40.1 PPG) joins Wilt Chamberlain as the only players across NBA history to average 40+ PPG through his first nine games of a season.
Luka Doncic MVP Momentum
Doncic is putting together a career year across the board. He leads the league with 5.8 threes per game while setting personal bests in field goals (12.2), free throws (9.9) and plus/minus (+15.6) — all on peak efficiency (.498/.419/.873 shooting splits).
Can Doncic become the first player since Chamberlain to average over 40 in a season? The 27-year-old superstar isn’t getting ahead of himself.
“It’s obviously a long season,” Doncic said, via ESPN’s Ben Golliver.
“We’re 10 games in. We’ve got 72 left. As long as we’re winning, I’m good. I got [the shots] up today, I’m not going to lie. Hopefully, it continues, but you never know.”
🟣 53 PTS – 5 REB – 5 3PM 🟣 40 PTS – 9 REB – 6 3PM 🟣 42 PTS – 13 AST – 6 3PM 🟣 45 PTS – 15 REB – 8 3PM 🟣 37 PTS – 7 REB – 6 3PM 🟣 41 PTS – 9 AST – 6 3PM 🟣 52 PTS – 10 AST – 8 3PM
Lakers Win Four in a Row
The Lakers secured the No. 1 seed in the West with Friday’s victory over the Blazers. Much like Doncic, head coach JJ Redick is keeping things in perspective —emphasizing that his team still has a ways to go before matching powerhouses like the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs.
“I think we’re already a really together group,” Redick said after Friday’s win, via Silver Screen and Roll.
“You don’t become a resilient team in 10 games, five games, 20 games. It takes a full season to build that resiliency. … But, the fact that this is a very together group and we’ve already shown a level of resiliency, it’s exciting, it’s promising and I want to continue building on that.”
The Lakers (8-2) will next face the Detroit Pistons (6-2) on the road on Sunday.
NBA’s Luka Doncic Announcement Caps Off Lakers’ Win Streak