Luka Doncic did just about everything right on the stat sheet for the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night. They defeated the Utah Jazz 143-135, and Doncic had 45 points, 11 rebounds, 14 assists and five steals compared with just one turnover. He did everything that has made him one of the best players in basketball over the years, while doing so on 50% shooting.
The Lakers still came away from the game with a feeling of low margin for error. Despite Luka’s dominance and LeBron James having a strong showing, the Lakers still only beat a lowly Jazz team by eight points, giving up 135 to a team missing their best player in Lauri Markkanen.
That’s why it’s unsurprising that in the aftermath of the win, the Lakers star believes he did not do everything in his power and has not being doing so this season, via Dave McMenamin of ESPN:
“I think, honestly, I could do so much more,” Doncic said after totaling 45 points, 14 assists, 11 rebounds, 5 steals and only 1 turnover. “But I think that one turnover is the best stat-wise on this stat sheet. We had seven turnovers, which is impressive for us and we won the game.”
Doncic is not one to take victory laps over strong regular season performances. He is always self-reflecting and figuring out how he can improve the team and increase the chances of contending for a championship, which is one of the signs of a great leader and great star player in the NBA.
A 45-point triple double with five steals and one turnover is a historic performance, and many players would be happy about doing that in a winning effort. But Luka knows that doing this in a December win against the Jazz won’t help them in April against a more serious opponent.
Luka Doncic makes Lakers history with statline
Luka Doncic recorded 45 points, 11 rebounds, 14 assists and five steals in the team’s Thursday night win over the Jazz. With that, he became the fourth player in Lakers franchise history to record a 40-point triple-double, joining Elgin Baylor, Magic Johnson and Jerry West.
Doncic’s 40-point triple-double is the first by a Laker in over 40 years as Johnson was the last to accomplish this feat, doing so on March 28, 1981. He also achieved this against the Jazz.
Doncic did not just land in the Lakers history books with this performance. He became the fourth player in NBA history to record 10 40-point triple-doubles in his career. James Harden, Oscar Robertson and Russell Westbrook are the other three, all of whom are perhaps the three players most synonymous with the triple-double.
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