LOS ANGELES — In the first leg of the Lakers’ back-to-back, they came out and were totally dominated by Denver. The Nuggets jumped out to an 11-0 run and never relinquished the lead.
For the second game, the Lakers flipped the script, beating the Pacers 128-117.
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They were able to cruise to victory despite playing without LeBron James, Deandre Ayton and Maxi Kleber, because Luka Dončić decided losing wasn’t an option.
Luka usually starts games strong. He leads the league in first-quarter points with 11.7 per game. Against the Pacers, he took his aggression to another level.
He started his offensive onslaught with a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer from the wing. Later in the period, he converted again from the same spot.
Dončić was feeling it from deep, and the hot streak never ended in the first quarter. He went a perfect 5-5 from deep.
His final 3-point attempt during the opening period was, arguably, his most impressive. Luka waited until the shot clock wound down and then took a highly contested three from the very top of the key.
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While this is a bad shot for most, Luka made it look routine. The ball swished through the net, the crowd roared, and Dončić grinned, pointing to some fans courtside who were marveling at his greatness.
“I mean, some ridiculous shot making,” Lakers head coach JJ Redick said postgame. “And a lot of ridiculous shot making against really, really good defenders. I think he just really imposed his will and took control of the game early and gave us a cushion.”
Luka ended the frame with a whopping 22 points. This was the fifth time this season that he had at least 20 after 12 minutes of play. Considering that they were missing two starters, Austin Reaves was struggling and the Lakers were coming off a tough loss, every point on Friday night was necessary.
“I think when you see a guy like him, kind of getting into his spots, hitting his shots, it definitely just brings a different level to our group,” Luke Kennard said.
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While Luka’s offense constantly receives adulation, his defensive moments often go unnoticed. Against the Pacers, those defensive plays were loud.
In the first quarter, Luka was running all over the court, helping on the weak side, grabbing defensive rebounds, and matching the Pacers’ physicality.
He blocked Pascal Siakam when he tried to attack him one-on-one, and then at the 6:47 mark, he intercepted a pass from Siakam as he tried to get the Pacers out in transition.
Luka turned that defense into offense by going coast-to-coast with the ball and scoring on the other end.
“Yeah, I know people are not going to talk about it ever,” Luka said regarding his defensive highlights. “So, I just try to do my job, try to be more aggressive, be more engaged. So, just trying to do better on the defensive end.”
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Thanks to Dončić’s efforts, the Lakers were in front 35-27 at the end of the first. From that point forward, the Lakers never looked back. They never trailed again, and the lead grew to as much as 24 points.
Due to Luka’s first-quarter play, he got to rest the entire fourth. An important and beneficial thing, considering the Lakers have a slew of tough games ahead during this homestand.
Luka won’t always reach this level of excellence to start a game, but the Lakers needed it in this contest and he delivered. It’s the fact that he can do it at all that makes him such a special player.
And it’s why, pregame, his former head coach, current coach of the Pacers, Rick Carlisle, gave him the highest of praise.
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“He’s the greatest player I’ve ever coached,” Carlisle said.
That’s high praise from a coach who won a title with Dirk Nowitzki. But as Luka showed on Friday night, he is that good, and once he starts hanging banners at Crypto.com Arena, that quote will be the consensus among basketball aficionados.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.
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