Summary
- Luka Doncic scored a season-high 53 points (17-of-33, 5 rebounds, 5 assists) as the Lakers beat the Trail Blazers 124-118 in NBA Cup play on Friday night
- The moment: with LA down double digits and 3-of-23 from three, Doncic banked in a three-quarter-court heave at the halftime buzzer — the longest made shot of his career
- Doncic outscored Portland by himself in the third quarter, 20 points to the Blazers’ 15; it is his fourth straight 40-point game and his 11th career 50-piece
For nearly a full half, the Lakers could not buy a three. They missed their first 15 attempts from deep against Portland on Friday night, trailed by double digits, and went into the last possession of the second quarter shooting 3-of-23 from distance. Then Luka Doncic took a handoff from Walker Kessler, stopped in the far free-throw circle and let go from three-quarter court. Bank. Buzzer. The longest made shot of his career — 61 feet on the Associated Press measure, 61.98 on the NBA’s own tracking — and Crypto.com Arena came unglued.
It was worth three points on the scoreboard and considerably more than that in the game. Portland’s lead was cut to 60-53 at the half, and the third quarter belonged to one man: Doncic scored 20 points in the frame, outscoring the entire Trail Blazers team 20-15, as the Lakers ripped off a 34-15 quarter and turned a 16-point deficit into a lead they never gave back. Final: 124-118, in NBA Cup group play.
The full line is the headline, though. Fifty-three points on 17-of-33 shooting, five rebounds, five assists — a season high, his second 50-point game of the young season, the 11th of his career, and his fourth straight game over 40, a streak only Kobe Bryant, Elgin Baylor and George Mikan have matched in franchise history. The Lakers are 8-2, and the league’s leading scorer is averaging 40.1 points a night.
“I decided to make it,” was about the whole of his explanation afterwards. Sure.
