JJ Redick has called these moments “blackouts,” but Sunday against the Clippers, Luka Doncic was very much alive.
At the start, he bounded up the left side of the floor, forced Ivica Zubac into the switch and stepped toward the Clippers’ bench before swishing a three-pointer that seemed like it scraped the scoreboard.
Then he made another, and he started to jaw at the opposing bench.
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Later, Amir Coffey got the assignment to cover Doncic and the Lakers star made another three, goading the Clippers to get someone who could actually defend him.
Fire. Intensity. Showmanship. Skill.
Later, he made another three over ace Clippers defender Kris Dunn, spraying a spew of what sure seemed like obscenities at any Clippers player who thought they could stop him.
This was the place Doncic went; this was the place the Lakers needed him to be.
Playing without starters Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura and without emerging reserve guard Jordan Goodwin, the Lakers needed their stars to carry them — especially in their fourth game at Crypto.com Arena in the past six nights.
After struggling against Dallas and Minnesota and not having his best game against the Clippers on Friday despite scoring 31 points, Doncic carried the Lakers to a 108-102 win over the Clippers that was a showcase of both his spirit and production.
He finished with 29 points, six rebounds and nine assists.
The Lakers were plus-19 in Doncic’s minutes, second only to Dorian Finney-Smith, their plus/minus monster, who finished plus-24. The win is the Lakers’ sixth in a row and 12th win in 14 games.
The win also moved the Lakers (38-21) to second in the Western Conference.
Needing 18 points to reach 50,000 career points (regular season and playoffs combined), LeBron James finished with 17. The final three came after the Clippers cut a 21-point lead down to five. James missed three shots on the same possession, the Lakers bailing him out with offensive rebounds each time, before he made a corner three to put them back up eight.
The Clippers (32-28) still pushed, desperate to even the season series with the Lakers at two wins each, but Kawhi Leonard’s season-high 33 points weren’t enough.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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