That was the Luka Doncic Lakers fans have been waiting to see.
Looking like his vintage self for the first time since straining his calf on Christmas Day, Doncic scored 16 points in the first quarter and went on to have 32 with 10 rebounds and seven assists as the Lakers looked impressive beating the Nuggets in Denver, 123-100.
After the game there was nothing but praise for Doncic, including from LeBron James (quotes via Jovan Buha of The Athletic).
“He was super dialed in,” LeBron James said. “He was very locked in on what he wanted to do out here on the floor tonight. Once he started hitting those stepback threes and got to yelling and barking, either at the fans or at us or himself… He was just dialed in on what he wanted to do and how he wanted to execute his game plan individually.”
LeBron also explained why his chemistry with Doncic is coming along so fast.
The other bright spot for Lakers fans was how good the team defense looked against Nikola Jokic and a team that has given them trouble in the past. The Lakers worked hard to limit Jokic’s touches — he took just seven shots, but did get to the free throw line 10 times — and swarm him when he got the ball, and the aggressive Lakers defense forced 22 Nuggets turnovers. Outside of Aaron Gordon and his 24 points, no other Nugget stepped up with a big night to make Los Angeles pay.
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