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, with Doncic leading the way behind 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.
But despite the dominant performance from Doncic and LeBron James having a strong showing as well, 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, Doncic expressed 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 Doncic 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
Doncic 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 Lakers player in over 40 years as Johnson had been the last to accomplish the feat when he did so on March 28, 1981. Ironically, that also came 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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