Luka Doncic scored 31 points as the Los Angeles Lakers eased to a 120-108 home win against the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference.
The 26-year-old Slovenian bagged 21 points in the first quarter alone and went on to reach the 200th 30-point game of his career while also recording nine rebounds and seven assists.
Austin Reaves added 22 points for the Lakers, who were without the injured LeBron James and Rui Hachimura.
The Nuggets, who missed Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray because of injuries, failed to recover after trailing 46-29 at the end of the first quarter and saw the Lakers leapfrog them by moving into third place in the standings.
Doncic, who joined the Lakers from the Dallas Mavericks in February, has now scored 30 points or more in eight of his 16 games since the move.
“Like I always say, every day gets better,” Doncic told ESPN after the win.
“That’s three wins in a row now so we’ve got to just keep it going.
“We go game-by-game because if you think too far in the future maybe you forget about the next game. We know the [standings] are tight but we’ve just got to try and win every game.”
The Lakers’ 46-point first quarter was their highest-scoring quarter of the season, while Doncic’s 21 points was his most points in any quarter for the Lakers.
In the Eastern Conference, the Cleveland Cavaliers remain top but fell to a 123-119 loss to the Sacramento Kings – their third straight defeat.
DeMar DeRozan added 27 points for the Kings against the Cavaliers, who had seen their franchise record 16-game winning streak snapped by the Orlando Magic at the weekend.
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