Doncic Drops 53 as Lakers Rally Past Trail Blazers 124-118
Luka Doncic scored a season-high 53 points on Friday night, including a banked 61-foot heave at the halftime buzzer, as the Los Angeles Lakers fought back from 16 points down to beat the Portland Trail Blazers 124-118 at Crypto.com Arena.
The win, in Emirates NBA Cup group play, was the Lakers’ fourth in a row and another chapter in Doncic’s remarkable start to the season. It was his 11th career 50-point game, his fourth since joining Los Angeles, and his second 50-point night of this season after 52 against Utah on 25 October. The Associated Press report of the game called it another spectacular offensive night for Doncic, while Sportsnet’s account noted it was his fourth 50-point game with the Lakers.
The heave that changed the night
For most of the first half, almost nothing went right for the Lakers. They missed their first 15 three-point attempts, and Doncic missed his first five from beyond the arc, as Portland built a lead that reached 16 points in the second quarter.
Then, with seconds left before the break, Doncic took a few dribbles, stopped in the far free-throw circle and launched a shot from 61 feet. It banked off the glass and in at the buzzer, cutting Portland’s lead to 60-53 and lifting a crowd that had watched its team struggle all half.
“I think it changes the whole energy in the team and in the gym,” Doncic said afterwards. “I thought it was an important shot to make — so that’s why I decided to make it.”
A 20-point third quarter
Doncic carried the momentum into the second half, scoring 20 points in the third quarter alone to reach 40 for the sixth time this season. The Lakers steadily erased the deficit, and by the closing minutes the game had become a contest of execution rather than survival.
With 28 seconds left, Doncic hit a jumper in the lane to move past 50 points and put Los Angeles in control. He and Austin Reaves combined for 10 points in the final seconds as a 12-point Lakers lead that had shrunk to four was preserved.
Doncic finished 17 of 33 from the field, 5 of 15 from three-point range and 14 of 18 from the free-throw line, adding five rebounds and five assists in 38 minutes.
A scoring run with no recent parallel
The 53-point night extended Doncic’s run of form: it was his fourth straight game with at least 40 points and his seventh in a row with at least 35. The Lakers have won each of the four games in the 40-point streak.
The performance also underlined how central Doncic has become to Los Angeles’ attack. When the outside shots were not falling early, he found another way to score — driving, drawing fouls and, when the moment demanded it, throwing up a shot from three-quarter court that he somehow made.
What it means for the Lakers
The win keeps the Lakers’ strong start going in NBA Cup group play and extends a winning run built largely on Doncic’s scoring. The win came days after Kristaps Porzingis stepped away from basketball to prioritise his health, a reminder that the league’s early season has already produced its share of unexpected turns.
Elsewhere in basketball this week, UCLA stunned Arizona in its season opener, while the NCAA won an appeal over fifth-year eligibility for athletes who enrolled in 2022.
For Portland, the defeat was a harsh lesson in closing out a game. The Trail Blazers controlled long stretches, led by 16 and held a seven-point advantage at half-time, but could not contain Doncic once he found his rhythm after the break.
The Lakers’ next test will show whether this scoring run can be sustained across a long season. On this evidence, opponents may need a better plan than hoping Doncic cools off — because on Friday night, even from 61 feet, he did not.
