Luka Doncic put the NBA on notice after he led the Los Angeles Lakers to snap their nine-game losing streak to the Denver Nuggets with a wire-to-wire 123-100 win on Saturday, Feb. 22 at the Ball Arena.
“I think our goal is,” Doncic initially said, then quickly corrected himself, “Not I think, I know our goal is to win a championship. That’s our only goal. And I think we have the team for that.”
That was on full display against the Nuggets, who entered the game with a nine-game home winning streak.
Doncic led the charge on offense with a game-high 32 points on 10-of-22 shooting and four 3-pointers, easily his best offensive showing since he became a Laker.
On defense, the Lakers’ smaller frontline rotated in neutralizing Nuggets star center Nikola Jokic, whose triple-double (12 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists) did not make an impact as he was held to only seven shots. The three-time NBA MVP only made 2-of-7 from the field and had a game-high six turnovers against the Lakers’ suffocating defense.
Sticking to the Game Plan
The Lakers have not won against the Nuggets in Denver since 2022. But Doncic and coach JJ Redick’s addition to this team made the biggest difference.
“The game plan was amazing,” Doncic told reporters. You know obviously what kind of player Jokic is. So, it’s very tough to guard him. The way we did today was unbelievable and we stuck to the game plan for 48 minutes which is amazing and JJ just said after the game that’s a big thing.”
Similar to their game plan when they beat the New York Knicks on the day they pulled off the Doncic trade, the Lakers denied Jokic to get the ball the same way they did to Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns by fronting him and quickly rotating.
It led to Jokic’s fewest shot attempts this season and forced the Nuggets to lean on other scoring options. Aaron Gordon led the Nuggets in scoring with 24 points on 9-of-15 shooting then Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr. and Russell Westbrook were a combined 18-of-46 from the floor.
Meanwhile, LeBron James took the backset to the hot-shooting Doncic. James finished with 25 points, nine rebounds and five assists after carrying the Lakers in their last two games. Austin Reaves added 23 points and seven assists.
Confidence-Boosting Win
The impressive win gave Doncic confidence that he could lead his new team the same way he did in Dallas when he led the Mavericks to the NBA Finals last season.
“It’s very tough to play here against that team,” Doncic said. “Just to win like that, it’s an amazing win for us and gives me a lot of confidence moving forward.”
The Lakers improved to 34-21 and are now just two games behind the Nuggets (37-19) for the third seed in the West.
“We still got a lot of improvement,” Doncic told reporters. “It’s [just] my fourth game. Chemistry takes time but you saw today after three games that it’s getting better. So every day is going to get better.”
JJ Redick’s ‘Blackout’ Pep Talk
After Doncic looked tentative in his first three games with the Lakers, averaging only 14.7 points, Redick gave him a pep talk that worked like magic.
“I want at least one blackout episode where he’s screaming indiscriminately at no one in particular because he’s excited,” Redick told reporters before the game. “That means he’s back. That’s the Luka I know. The killer.”
Doncic responded with his best game since arriving from the most shocking trade in NBA history and from the calf injury that sidelined him since Christmas.
The 25-year-old Slovenian star added 10 rebounds and seven assists. He was also engaged defensively, leading to four steals.
Doncic was back to his dominant self, leading the Lakers in scoring, rebounding and steals and he was tied in most assists with Reaves.
Doncic eclipsed his scoring average over his first three games in the first quarter with 16 points as he screamed, yelled, yapped with his trademark snarl and smiled throughout the game. He was even called for his first technical foul as a Laker at the end of the first half, arguing over what he felt was a non-call on his last shot.
“You can see it,” Doncic said when reporters reminded him about Redick’s pep talk. “You know me, smiling on the court, having fun. JJ told me, ‘You got to have one blackout moment.’ I think I had one but you know it just felt like me a little bit so I was happy.”
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