Luka Doncic scores 53 as Lakers avenge loss to Trail Blazers

The absurd 62-foot three-pointer Luka Doncic hoisted and made late in the second quarter Friday night seemed to ignite him, pushing him to even higher heights on the way to scoring 53 points.

Doncic especially went to work in the third quarter, scoring 20 points in that span in delivering the Lakers to a 124-118 win over the Portland Trail Blazers Friday night at Crypto.com Arena.

Advertisement

It was the second time Doncic has scored 50 points or more this season, his first time coming when he scored 52 points against the Utah Jazz on Oct. 25. It was the fourth time Doncic has scored 50-plus points as a Laker, passing LeBron James and tying George Mikan for fourth in franchise regular-season history.

Doncic contributed five rebounds and five assists to help the Lakers win their first NBA Cup game after losing the first one to the Golden State Warriors last week. The Lakers (8-2) moved into first place in the Western Conference by handing the Trail Blazers (6-2) their second loss.

Doncic is now averaging 40.1 points per game this season.

When the Lakers saw their 16-point lead sliced to four in the fourth quarter, naturally it was Doncic who saved them.

Lakers forward Jake LaRavia and Trail Blazers guard Scoot Henderson dive for a loose ball during the first half Friday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

His seven-foot floater with 27.7 seconds remaining gave the Lakers a six-point lead that stood.

Advertisement

Now everyone knows why Doncic is shooting a career-best from three-point range and why he practices those long-range threes all the time.

After Walker Kessler got a defensive rebound with 4.3 seconds left in the second quarter, he passed the ball to Doncic, who had nowhere to go with the Portland defense around him. So, Doncic just tossed up the three-pointer from the three-point line on the Portland side of the court that banked in as time expired. He looked at the crowd as he walked off the court for halftime.

Doncic finished the first half with 20 points and helped the Lakers trim a 16-point lead to 60-53 at the half.

It was a slow and ugly start for the Lakers in the first 12…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/luka-doncic-scores-53-lakers-062045695.html

Author :

Publish date : 2026-11-07 06:20:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.