Luka Dončić scored 32 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, dished out seven assists and stole four passes while leading the Los Angeles Lakers to a 123-100 wipeout of the Denver Nuggets, who had won nine consecutive games, on Saturday night.
“Finally feel like myself a little bit,” Dončić said. “Playing this game, this is what I love. Just finally being myself a little bit, that’s why I was smiling all game.”
So was LeBron James, who chipped in 25 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and three blocks – and several times was on the receiving end of Dončić’s long passes for fastbreak buckets as the Lakers led wire-to-wire against their recent nemisis.
“I am a natural-born wide receiver and he’s a natural-born quarterback,” cracked James.
Dončić said his chemistry with the Lakers, James included, is still budding. “This is my fourth game,” Dončić said. “Chemistry takes time. You saw today that it’s getting better. Every day, it’s getting better. … Hard, different, but I’m happy to be playing basketball. Every day is going to get better for me. I’m happy to be here. I’m happy for the new journey.”
The duo’s performance in Denver should give the Lakers and their followers a sense that they can make the kind of deep playoff run that eluded them the last two years when the Nuggets bounced them in the first round, winning eight of nine when James was teamed with Anthony Davis.
The Lakers had just nine turnovers to Denver’s 22 and 15 steals to the Nuggets’ six. And while they took just one more shot, they made nine more baskets.
Although they surrendered Nikola Jokić’s 26th triple-double of the season, the Lakers held the reigning MVP to just 2-of-7 shooting and forced him into an uncharacteristic half dozen turnovers.
“It was their night,” Jamal Murray said. “Offensively and defensively.”
The Lakers never trailed as they won in Denver for the first time since April 2022.
Dončić, who had 19 points by halftime, had been slowly adjusting to his new team since the big trade and working himself back into shape after missing several weeks with a calf injury. But in Denver, James said he saw a dialed-in Dončić, the very version that led the Mavericks to the NBA finals last year.
“Once he started hitting those stepback 3s, he could be yelling or barking, either at fans, or us or himself,” James said.
Before tipoff, Lakers coach JJ Reddick said he wanted to see the passionate side of Dončić, “to have a blackout moment where he’s yelling.” He got that moment when Dončić hit a three-pointer in the final minute of the first half and let out a big scream.
“It was great,” Reddick said.
