Luka Doncic makes Lakers debut, clicks with LeBron James in rout of Jazz
Doncic scores 14 points in 24 minutes, immediately getting into the flow with James and receiving multiple standing ovations from fans wearing T-shirts in his honor during a 132-113 victory.
LOS ANGELES — The tone for Luka Doncic’s first game in a Lakers jersey was set early Monday night against the Utah Jazz.
On the Lakers’ first possession, fellow star playmaker LeBron James drove into the paint while Utah’s defense was focused on Doncic coming off a pindown screen set by Austin Reaves, helping open an opportunity for James to throw an alley-oop to Jaxson Hayes for the game’s first points.
Less than 30 seconds later, after James pushed the ball up the court in transition and passed the ball to Doncic above the break, Doncic drove into the paint and assisted Hayes on his second alley-oop of the night.
The plays were emblematic of how the Lakers performed in Doncic’s debut, dominating the Jazz, 132-113, for their sixth consecutive victory, tied for their longest win streak of the season.
“We were able to generate really good offense,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “Our three main guys did a nice job of playing off of each other. Sometimes you can have agendas in a game. I felt like this for our group was a no-agenda game beyond winning a basketball game and playing the right way.”
Doncic got multiple standing ovations from a crowd wearing thousands of gold T-shirts featuring his name and jersey No. 77. The Slovenian superstar scored 11 of his 14 points while the Lakers streaked to a 25-point halftime lead, and he sat down for good with 3:07 left in the third quarter with the Lakers far ahead.
“Special,” Doncic said of his 24-minute Lakers debut. “The way they received me, everybody, it was amazing to see. I was a little bit nervous before. I don’t remember the last time I was nervous before the game. But once I stepped on the court, it was fun. And just being out there again felt amazing.”
Doncic’s first basket was a 3-pointer in the opening minutes on his second shot. He finished with five rebounds and four assists – none prettier than a three-quarter-court strike to James for a layup late in the first half.
“He is someone that can make every pass,” Reaves said. “He’s willing to throw every pass. That’s what makes somebody a great passer. They have that, I don’t want to say ‘don’t care’ mentality, but you have to be a little crazy in your mind to throw some of the passes that he throws.
“I’m a big fan of the way he plays, manipulates the game and in many ways gets the teammates open shots. But it’s nothing new to I think anybody on our team or in the world. Everybody knows how good of a player he is. If you’ve really paid attention to what he did in Dallas. Like I said, on the court, I’m just really excited that he is a Laker now.”
Offense came easy for the Lakers (32-19), who have won 12 of their past 14 games dating to Jan. 15.
Doncic, James and Reaves took turns capitalizing on advantages and mismatches they created, leading to efficient offense for themselves and their teammates.
“You’re going to have to make some tough decisions and certainly there are certain defenses and defenders that will force us to be really crisp and sharp with our execution,” Redick said. “You feel comfortable with those three guys as creators.”
James, who didn’t speak with reporters after the game, led the way with 24 points (10-of-17 shooting), eight assists and seven rebounds in 29 minutes.
Reaves, who scored a career-high 45 points in Saturday’s home win against the Indiana Pacers, was uber efficient, scoring 22 points on just 10 shots (60% shooting) to go with nine rebounds and four assists in 32 minutes.
Doncic looked rusty at times (5-for-14 shooting, 1 for 7 from 3-point range) in his first game since suffering a strained left calf on Dec. 25 while playing for the Dallas Mavericks, who shocked the sports world by trading him to the Lakers on Feb. 1.
“I didn’t play in a long time,” Doncic said. “It’s a new team. New everything. But like the way they helped me … it was just a lot of support for me. You could see when I came to the arena, I saw all the Luka jerseys. It was just a surreal feeling.”
After a full week to settle in and return to full strength, Doncic joined James, Reaves, Hayes and Rui Hachimura in the starting lineup. While his legs weren’t quite there yet after seven weeks away from game play, his playmaking immediately meshed with his new teammates.
“It’s special, it really is,” Redick said at halftime, with his team leading the Jazz, 72-47. “He has such a good feel for the game. He makes it easy for everybody on the court.”
Doncic – who began Monday by donating $500,000 to fire recovery efforts in his new community – was serenaded with “Lu-ka! Lu-ka!” chants at the first dead ball, and several times thereafter. That crowd included Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki, who overlapped with Doncic for one season in Dallas and served as his mentor.
“A lot, man. Just for him to show up, a great friend, always looked up to him. A great mentor. So for him to show up, fly all the way from Dallas, was amazing,” Doncic said. “And I really, really appreciate it.”
Doncic played the first 6:56 before checking out alongside James – likely a coincidence due to Doncic’s minutes restriction while he works his way back. The Lakers are expected to have one of their superstars on the court at nearly all times when Doncic gets up to speed.
Doncic returned with about eight minutes left in the first half, and he helped the Lakers on their way to a big lead with several key plays.
Everyone received a Doncic T-shirt to mark the occasion, including James, who warmed up before the game in the gold No. 77 shirt.
Doncic, who watched three straight Laker victories from their bench since arriving in Los Angeles a week ago, was followed by dozens of cameras as he warmed up for about 10 minutes before the game. The arena sound system played the Slovenian music he favors for pregame workouts and he was introduced last before the game, the spot normally reserved for James, which led to another standing ovation.
Doncic said James texted him in the morning and offered to do anything to help – and Doncic took him up on it by taking that final intro spot. They’ll swap for the Lakers’ next home game next week, Doncic said with a smile.
“Shows what kind of person he is,” Doncic said. “He let me have my moment.”
Redick, who played alongside Doncic for 13 games in 2021 with the Mavericks, was pleased by Doncic’s poise and patience in a landmark game.
“Knowing Luka, whether he will admit this or not, there was probably a little bit of nerves playing for the Lakers for the first time, and the anticipation that this building had,” Redick said. “I thought he handled it really well, and he played really well tonight. … He didn’t make it about Luka. He made it about playing good basketball and playing Laker basketball.”
The Lakers’ offense hummed all night, as they shot 54.3% from the field (50 for 92) and finished with 28 assists.
Their total field goals were one shot of tying the season-high 51 they made in an overtime road loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Dec. 6.
And when the trio of Doncic, James and Reaves weren’t creating for themselves, they were making life easier for others.
Seven Lakers scored in double figures: Hachimura scored 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting to go with six rebounds and two steals. Hayes finished with 12 points.
Jordan Goodwin (17 points, eight rebounds, two steals), who signed a two-way contract with the Lakers last week, and Gabe Vincent (11 points, four assists) combined for 28 points off the bench.
The Lakers, who led by as much as 34, scored at least 28 points in each quarter – including 37 in the first, 35 in the second and 32 in the fourth.
The Jazz were led by John Collins’ 17 points and 11 rebounds. Lauri Markkanen also had 17 points for the Jazz, who have dropped nine in a row on the road.
The teams meet again Wednesday night in Salt Lake City in their final game before the All-Star break.
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