Luka Doncic led the Los Angeles Lakers to their eighth win in a row with a gala performance. The Slovenian scored 60 points against the Miami Heat and helped the Californians prevail 134:126 in Florida.
The day before, the Lakers had played a tough game in Houston, where the playmaker had also scored 40 points. In Miami, almost everything went his way: 60 points (18/30 FG, 9/17 threes, 15/19 FT) and five steals were recorded for the Slovenian in just under 38 minutes.
It was the best scoring game of his career after the 73-point game in Atlanta (January 2024) and he is also the first Laker since Kobe Bryant (April 2016) to record a 60-point game. He is also the first player to score 60 points for Miami (previously: James Harden, 58).
The 60 points were also necessary, as the Heat, led by Bam Adebayo (28, 9/19 FG, 10 rebounds) and Tyler Herro (21), already led by 15 points in the first half before Doncic really got going after the changeover. The 27-year-old scored 39 points after the break, missing just five of his 16 shots.
Doncic: 17 points in the last five minutes
The Heat were then back to within four points with five minutes remaining before Luka Doncic scored twelve points in a row. A small floater, an and-1 drive, a put-back, two free throws and a three-pointer made it 124:117 in favor of the Lakers before Doncic’s ninth three-pointer of the evening finally sealed the victory.
The importance of the win can also be seen from the fact that LeBron James laced up his sneakers despite being back-to-back. Like Houston the day before, James did not miss a single shot (7/7 FG) in the first three quarters and ended up with a triple-double of 19 points (8/12), 15 rebounds and ten assists in 38 minutes. Austin Reaves contributed 18 points to the win, while Maxi Kleber was once again absent with back problems.
The Lakers’ eighth win in a row helped them consolidate third place in the West and now have a two-win lead over runner-up Minnesota. L.A. will continue in two days’ time in Orlando. They are a rival for Miami in the play-off race, who have slipped to eighth place in the East after their third defeat in a row. However, the quartet of Atlanta, Orlando, Miami and Philadelphia are separated by just one game.
