By GREG BEACHAM AP Sports Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Although Luka Doncic is in his ninth NBA season as one of the sport’s most dynamic scorers, he has rarely been better than this.
Two weeks into the Los Angeles Lakers’ first season following LeBron James’ departure, Doncic is scorching opponents with one brilliant offensive performance after another.
Doncic even did it back-to-back over the past two days, putting up 45 points and 15 rebounds in a win over Toronto on Sunday night before dropping 42 points, 13 assists and seven rebounds in another comfortable victory over Miami on Monday night.
“It feels good, but when we win, it feels way better,” Doncic said. “That’s the only important stuff. Obviously, it feels good (to score), but when you win by 20 against a team like Miami, it’s really awesome, especially on a back-to-back.”
Doncic has scored at least 37 points in five consecutive games, topping 40 in four of those outings. He has made 34 3-pointers in that stretch while hitting 53.1% of his shots overall.
And fittingly for a season that began with a dramatic half-court bucket over a trash-talking opponent, Doncic is lighting up the scoreboard with style and flair to spare.
He’s hitting tough shots from all over the court, throwing creative passes and rebounding with relish. As his teammates have repeatedly pointed out, Doncic is even giving a serious defensive effort that hasn’t always been part of his game, culminating in five steals against the Raptors.
“It’s crazy,” Lakers guard Quentin Grimes said. “It just feels like almost anything he shoots — whether it’s a circus shot, or whether it’s a regular step-back 3, or it’s a tough look — it seems like everything he shoots is going to go in. It’s kind of surreal. I don’t think I’ve ever been on the court when everything somebody shoots, you think it’s going in. It’s kind of crazy the heater he’s on, for sure.”
Doncic has won two of the past three NBA scoring titles, and he’s the early leader again by a wide margin after this prolific surge that began with a 52-point performance at Utah. He had 41 and 37 in his next two games — both losses — before his back-to-back spree at the Lakers’ downtown arena.
The Lakers are off to a 6-2 start despite having nine new players on their roster after another summer of turnover, but they’re already coming together behind their Slovenian superstar.
“It feels like a supernova, but it also feels normal,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “We live on a spaceship, and we’re going at the speed of light at all times when he’s on the court. When he has it going, it’s pick your poison, because he can just make any shot. And then you start putting two on the ball, and everybody else is the beneficiary of that. He’s a terrific offensive engine.”
Indeed, opponents have reacted to Doncic’s roll by blitzing him with two or three defenders well outside the 3-point arc. The Lakers are already making the obvious adjustments to that strategy: Doncic repeatedly passed out of trouble and found his teammates in better positions over the last two games, and those teammates relished their open 3-pointers.
Los Angeles went 37 for 80 beyond the arc in the past two games while scoring 269 total points.
“It’s not just me, it’s everybody,” Doncic said. “Everybody is in the right spots and shooting with confidence.”
Indeed, the Lakers racked up 39 assists against the Heat, the most they’ve had in a game since Redick took over in 2024. The Lakers also lead the league in team field goal percentage, and new center Walker Kessler is the NBA’s most accurate individual shooter thanks to the dozens of lobs already thrown to him by Doncic and their teammates.
While James’ playmaking and leadership could be missed later in the year, this Lakers roster built around Doncic is getting an early taste of just how good it can be.
“It’s fun,” said Austin Reaves, who had 27 points against Miami. “Luka is doing incredible things, and when he’s doing that, it just opens up the floor for everybody else to play free and confident, and I feel like that’s what we did tonight.”
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