LOS ANGELES — Luka Dončić has had himself a day.
Dončić, over a 24-hour stretch, dropped a staggering 87 points in consecutive Los Angeles Lakers victories, the latest Monday, Nov. 2 in a 138-117 domination over the Miami Heat. In the process, not only did Dončić outshine Heat star Giannis Antetokounmpo, he’s proving that Los Angeles is close to unbeatable when he’s besieging opponents with buckets.
Case in point: entering the night, NBA teams were averaging 113.7 points per game; the Lakers, by the end of the third quarter, were already at 111. For reference, that was four points off from tying the most allowed by the Heat through three quarters in their history.
One night after he dropped 45 in a win over the Toronto Raptors, Dončić toasted the Heat
to the tune of 42 points on 14-of-24 shooting, scooping 7 rebounds and dishing out 13 assists.
It didn’t matter who Miami sent at Dončić. Versatile defensive wing Andrew Wiggins started the game on Dončić, but Pelle Larsson and Davion Mitchell each got their turn. Later in the third, after Dončić was creeping toward 40 points, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra dug deep in the bench and deployed defensive-specialist guard Dru Smith. The Heat threw double-teams at Dončić, but that didn’t matter, either.
Dončić zipped and lofted passes to open teammates who had been left neglected because of those double-teams. By the end of the third, he had already posted double-digit assists.
This is the bewildering thing about defending Dončić: even when you try to rush him, he stubbornly plays at his pace, parries away the additional defensive attention – almost teasing blitzing defenders and daring them to get close – only to pinpoint passes right into his teammates’ shooting pockets.
This was an efficient Dončić. He did not need to strafe the rim with shots. He was under control. He was never flustered. And, at least on Monday night, he made his teammates better.
Antetokounmpo, by comparison, finished with 30 points on 10-of-17 shooting, adding 12 rebounds and 7 assists.
The Lakers improved to 6-2 and Dončić is now averaging 38.3 points per game, which is a full 4 points greater than the next closest player. They wield one of the top 3 offenses in the NBA. And as injuries have plagued some of the top teams in the West, like the Oklahoma City Thunder, there could be an opening for the Lakers to blossom into a legitimate title threat with Dončić as the unquestioned anchor of the team.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Luka Dončić shows how unbeatable Lakers can be in rout of Heat
