A few hours before the Los Angeles Lakers crushed the Denver Nuggets, 123-100, in a great force test of the Western Conference on Saturday evening, the Lakers JJ Redick head coach launched a challenge to Luka Dončić: “I want him to have an” episode of Blackout “this evening he cried out to anyone in particular.
Dončić delivered at the end of the second quarter when he informed everyone in the vicinity of the villain at 3 points which he had just made on Christian Braun. It may not have been one of his “episodes of breakdown” the most memorable, but Dončić was certainly the “killer” on Saturday that Redick and everyone learned over the years. In his best performance to date with Lakers, Dončić has left for 32 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and four interceptions.
“I finally feel a bit like me,” said Dončić during her post-match interview. “Playing this game is what I like. Just being a little bit, that’s why I smiled the whole game.”
Less than two minutes later, Dončić found LeBron James for a Dunk, the first of the four different connections between the two stars, and never looked back. He had more points in the first half (19) which he totaled in his first three games in a uniform of combined Lakers.
After the Nuggets opened the third quarter with an 8-0 race to reduce the deficit to one, Dončić was ready with an answer. He scored or helped on nine points during a 15-2 race which reaffirmed control of the Lakers on the game. They spent most of the remaining minutes in double digit before stacking it at the end.
The victory, which ended the sequence of nine victories of Nuggets, was perhaps the ideal version of this new Lakers team. They were able to keep at least one of James or Dončić on the ground at any time to direct the show, and obtained great games of them. The outdoor shots dropped (16 out of 41 from the range of 3 points) and their actors brought defensive energy.
“I think we have improved a lot,” said Dončić when we learn to play with the NbaThe top scorer of all time. “This is my fourth match. So you know, chemistry takes time. We have seen today that it improves. So, every day, it will improve.”
Things will not work as well, but it is clear that Lakers can play with anyone and should only improve in the coming weeks when Dončić gets back in basketball after missing near Two months old and acclimatized his stay in Dallas.
“Difficult. Different,” said Dončić when he was asked how the past few weeks were for him. “But you know, I am happy to play basketball. So, as I say, every day will be better. For me, I am happy to be here. Obviously, these guys are really incredible, so I am happy for the new trip.
With the victory, the Lakers improved at 34-21, good for fourth place in the western classification after the defeat of the Houston Rockets on Saturday evening. They have moved away from the play tournament pack and are now the subject of victims of maintaining the advantage of the field in the first round. The advantage of the nuggets of third place on the Lakers is two games.
