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'Locked in' Luka explodes as Lakers win in Denver
Luka Doncic had his best game with the Lakers, exploding for 32 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists as Los Angeles won in Denver for the first time in nearly three years.
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DENVER -- It took Luka Doncic only one quarter Saturday to match his highest scoring output from his first three games with the Lakers, tallying 16 points while Los Angeles built an early lead on the Denver Nuggets.
He kept rolling from there -- and so did the Lakers -- as Doncic finished with a game-high 32 points in a 123-100 win that gave Los Angeles its first victory in Denver in nearly three years.
"It's very tough to play here against that team," said Doncic, who added 10 rebounds, seven assists and four steals in his fourth game with the Lakers since being traded earlier this month. "Just to win like that, it's an amazing win for us and gives me a lot of confidence moving forward."
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The Lakers ended the Nuggets' nine-game winning streak and snapped an eight-game skid at Ball Arena. The last time the Lakers beat the Nuggets in a regular-season contest on Denver's home floor was April 10, 2022.
Lakers coach JJ Redick challenged Doncic before the game to get so wrapped up in the competition that he has a "blackout episode" where he starts yelling indiscriminately in the heat of battle.
That happened several times Saturday.
"He was super dialed in," LeBron James said of Doncic. "He was very locked in on what he wanted to do out here on the floor tonight. Once he started hitting those step-back 3s and got to yelling and barking, either at the fans or at us, or himself."
Doncic had averaged 14.7 points on 35.6% shooting (20.8% from 3) through his first three games with the Lakers while slowly integrating into the lineup after a left calf injury had kept him sidelined since Christmas with the Dallas Mavericks.
Saturday night, Doncic led Los Angeles in shot attempts, going 10-for-22 from the field, and was tied for the lead in assists.
James had 25 points on 11-for-19 shooting with nine rebounds, five assists and three blocks, and fellow starters Austin Reaves (23 points, 7 assists) and Rui Hachimura (21 points, 4 assists) also topped the 20-point plateau.
Redick said Doncic will see more touches.
"I think Luka needs to be the guy that controls the offense," Redick said. "And Bron and AR, because we're going to stagger everybody, they're going to have their times to be on the ball. But all three of those guys are very intelligent basketball players, and we can create mismatches. We can get teams in the blender."
James, who was the beneficiary of a full-court outlet pass from Doncic to score on a streaking dunk a couple of possessions into the game, endorsed Redick's plan.
"I'm a natural-born wide receiver and he's a natural-born quarterback, so it fits perfectly," James said.
With Doncic's first game against his former team looming Tuesday, when Los Angeles hosts Dallas, the Lakers' new star already sounded convinced he will make an NBA Finals run with his new group, the way he did with the Mavericks last year.
"I think our goal is -- not I think, I know our goal is to win a championship," Doncic said. "That's our only goal. And I think we have the team for that."
