Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic had another statement performance of the 2025-26 season, this time coming at the expense of the L.A. Clippers.
Doncic’s dislike of the Clippers is well-documented given his history with the team, but he and the Lakers had the latest laugh after beating their crosstown rivals 135-118. Doncic scored a game-high 43 points, with 32 of them coming in the first half against a beleaguered Clippers defense.
Not only did the Lakers improve to 13-4 on the season, but they also clinched West Group B of the Emirates NBA Cup. The Lakers and Clippers both entered their matchup 2-0 in group play, but after the Lakers beat the Clippers they secured the tiebreakers against them and the Grizzlies. The Lakers will wrap up group play on Friday against the Dallas Mavericks.
Following the win against the Clippers, Doncic said he likes earning money for winning games but likes the competition aspect of the NBA Cup even more.
“I mean, obviously, I’ll accept money. That’s easy, but I never got more than, I think I never got past the group stage,” he admitted. “So, something new for me. I played in Spain, something like this. So, I like it. Just the courts, please.”
The Lakers know a thing or two about winning the NBA Cup as they were the inaugural champions in 2023, but now Doncic has a chance to help the organization capture a second banner. Although the larger goal is an NBA championship, winning the NBA Cup is a small step toward getting there so there are still benefits for Doncic and company to take it seriously.
Even though Friday’s game against the Mavericks won’t affect the NBA Cup standings, Doncic will be plenty motivated to stick it to his former team despite their recent dismissal of Nico Harrison. A win would leave the Lakers with an unblemished group play record, but also stack onto their ongoing five-game winning streak.
Doncic has a knack for performing on the biggest stages, so it will be exciting to see how he looks once the knockout rounds begin.
Luka Doncic hopes NBA addresses slippery NBA Cup courts
While Luka Doncic has performed well in the group stage of the Emirates NBA Cup, he did raise flags about player safety following the win against the Clippers. Doncic noted that the specialized courts are slippery and that he and several other players fell multiple times during the game, hoping it gets addressed before Friday.
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