Luka Doncic Scores 42, Earns Giannis' All-Time Praise — SkimNews
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- Luka Doncic scored 42 points and added 13 assists as the Lakers beat the Miami Heat 138-117, his fourth 40-plus-point game in five outings; the Lakers improved to 6-2 and moved to No. 4 in the Western Conference two weeks into the season.
- Luka Doncic raised his league-leading scoring average to 38.8 points per game and averaged 43.4 over his past five games while shooting 53.2% overall, 44.7% from three and 89.1% from the free-throw line.
- Giannis Antetokounmpo, averaging 28.4 points, called Doncic “one of the best scorers to play this game, if not the best” and said some people were scared to say “he’s got to be up there.”
- Luka Doncic averages 29.32 points for his career, behind only Michael Jordan’s 30.12 and Wilt Chamberlain’s 30.07, while his 30.9 playoff average is higher than his regular-season mark.
- Luka Doncic became the first Lakers player since Kobe Bryant in 2007 to record 20-plus first-half points in five straight games and is on pace for a second straight scoring title and third of his career.
- JJ Redick credited Doncic’s shotmaking with bending the defense and making every pass possible; the Lakers had 39 assists, their most since he took over as coach in 2024-25, and scored on six of seven possessions when Doncic used an on-ball screen against Miami’s blitz.
Why it matters: The Lakers produced 39 assists against Miami, their most since JJ Redick took over in 2024-25, with Doncic bending the defense and the team scoring six times in seven possessions using his on-ball screen. His league-leading 38.8 average also gives Giannis’s praise a numerical backdrop: Antetokounmpo is averaging 28.4.
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