The Luka Doncic and LeBron James era has been nothing short of fun and exciting as the star duo has the Los Angeles Lakers looking every bit of a title contender.
The Lakers have beaten several playoff teams the past few weeks and came into their matchup on Tuesday against the New Orleans Pelicans with a six-game winning streak. Doncic and James have transformed the offense into a faster, more 3-point-oriented outfit while the defense has leaned into its identity as a smaller, yet faster group.
The combination of the improved offense and defense has propelled Los Angeles forward to new heights and the team continued its dominance with a 136-115 win over New Orleans. The 136 points were a season-high for L.A.
Doncic has looked more and more like himself the past week as he continues to work his way back into rhythm and game shape, but he had arguably his best offensive showing against the Pelicans. New Orleans had no answer for Doncic who routinely torched them from the perimeter and found teammates wide-open for good looks.
When Doncic has it going, there’s nothing a defense can do and he showed why after he hit a flurry of threes in the first quarter to put the Lakers up. Overall, Doncic resembled the superstar that Los Angeles was hoping to see as he scored 30 points to go along with 15 assists, eight rebounds, one steal and one block.
He became one of four players in Lakers history to record at least 30 points and 15 assists in a single game, joining Jerry West, Magic Johnson and James.
Not to be outdone by his younger co-star, James made sure to take advantage of the extra defensive attention on Doncic to find his spots on the floor. James’ first basket of the night was a 3-pointer from the left wing that made him the first player in NBA history to score 50,000 career points.
James didn’t find much resistance heading to the rim either as he bullied his way to the basket for several easy shots. James wound up leading the team in scoring with 34 points, but he also pitched in eight rebounds, six assists, one steal and two blocks.
Jarred Vanderbilt is always a shot in the arm when he enters the game, and he had his imprints all over the win as he did everything on both ends of the floor. Vanderbilt played his usual brand of frenetic defense but also contributed offensively.
Vanderbilt had his best game of the season, putting up 12 points, eight rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block.
What’s next for the Lakers
The Lakers will close out their homestand on Thursday against the New York Knicks before another primetime game on Saturday against the Boston Celtics to kick off a four-game road trip.
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