Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – Luka Doncic delivered a dominant 32-point performance as the Los Angeles Lakers snapped the Denver Nuggets’ nine-game winning streak on Saturday with an impressive 123-100 victory on the road in Colorado. Doncic, playing only his fourth game for the Lakers since his blockbuster trade from Dallas, was in scintillating form as the Lakers conjured a statement wire-to-wire win over their Western Conference rivals. The Slovenian superstar was the standout performer on a night when the Lakers saw four players finish with 20 points or more for the first time this season. Doncic finished with 32 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists while LeBron James backed him with 25 points. Austin Reaves added 23 points and Rui Hachimura 21.
“I’m starting to feel a little bit more like myself — that’s why I was smiling the whole game,” Doncic told ESPN afterward. “There’s still a lot of room for improvement and this is only my fourth game. Chemistry takes time. But you saw today that things are getting better.” Doncic had signalled he was in the mood for a stellar performance early in the first quarter, arrowing a couple of superb passes to James and Jaxson Hayes to help the Lakers take an 8-3 lead. A sublime three-pointer from Doncic put the Lakers into a 31-18 lead as the visitors remained firmly on top. Doncic finished the first quarter with 16 points, four rebounds, and three assists and was soon back into the groove in the second quarter.
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A delicate lobbed assist to James for an alley-oop dunk made it 60-52 before Doncic unfurled a 24-foot three-pointer to put the Lakers 11 points up. The Nuggets closed the deficit to 63-54 at the half, but the Lakers remained in control for much of the third quarter, taking a nine-point advantage into the final frame. The Lakers continued to keep the scoreboard ticking over in the fourth, and Doncic put Los Angeles into a 20-point lead at 117-97 with just over four minutes remaining after another Denver turnover to effectively ice the game. The Lakers improved to 34-21 with the win and remain fifth in the West. The Nuggets fell to 37-20 with the defeat.
– Suns down Bulls –
In other NBA action on Saturday, the Phoenix Suns halted their four-game losing streak with a 121-117 road victory over the Chicago Bulls. Devin Booker finished with 29 points while Kevin Durant added 27 and Bradley Beal 25 as Phoenix fought back from an early 13-point deficit to claim a win that lifts them to 27-29 in the Western Conference. Australian international Josh Giddey led the Bulls’ scorers with 24 points.
Elsewhere, the Philadelphia 76ers’ problems continued with a seventh straight defeat as they slumped to an agonizing 105-103 home loss against the Brooklyn Nets. Sixers ace Tyrese Maxey leveled it for Philadelphia with a three-pointer with 23 seconds remaining. But Nic Claxton’s tip layup at the buzzer snatched victory for Brooklyn, who improved to 21-35 with the win. Cameron Johnson led Brooklyn’s scorers with 23 points, while Maxey’s 31-point haul went in vain for Philadelphia. Sixers star Joel Embiid had another frustrating outing, finishing with only 14 points from 4-of-13 shooting and being benched for the fourth quarter. Sixers coach Nick Nurse defended Embiid’s contribution as he continues to struggle with a niggling knee problem.
“He’s giving us what he can,” Nurse said of Embiid. “He’s not himself, we all know that. He’s not, certainly, the guy that we’re used to seeing play at a super high level. But I commend him for giving us what he can.”
© 2024 AFP
