Luka Dončić scored 42 points with 13 assists, seven rebounds and two steals on Monday night, leading the Los Angeles Lakers to a 138-117 win over the Miami Heat at Crypto.com Arena and extending his streak to five consecutive games of at least 37 points. The performance, on the second night of a back-to-back, moved the Lakers to 6-2 and left the Heat at 2-5.
A scoring average near 39, and a first in NBA history
Dončić went 14-for-24 from the field, including 6-for-15 from 3-point range, and added the season-high 13 assists, according to the NBA’s game report. It was his fourth 40-point game in his past five outings, and ESPN put his league-leading scoring average at 38.8 points per game, while The Guardian calculated it at 38.3.
LUKA NOW HAS THE MOST GAMES (19) IN NBA HISTORY WITH 40+ PTS, 10+ AST, and 5+ 3PM! 🪄 42 PTS 🪄 7 REB 🪄 13 AST 🪄 2 STL 🪄 6 3PM The @Lakers improve to 6-2 on the season 👏 pic.twitter.com/PJELh3QQvN
The NBA noted that he now has the most games in league history — 19 — with at least 40 points, 10 assists and five made 3-pointers, and The Big Lead reported he is the first player ever to record both 250-plus points and 40-plus 3-pointers through his first seven games of a season. He is also the only player since the 1960-61 season to reach 250 points, 50 rebounds and 50 assists in a team’s first seven games.
Over his last five games he has averaged 43.4 points on 53.2% shooting, 44.7% from 3 and 89.1% from the free-throw line, ESPN reported. Monday’s win marked his fifth straight game with 20-plus points in the first half, making him the first Lakers player to do so since Kobe Bryant in 2007.
Luka on what he likes about the Lakers' offense clicking: "I think it's just flowing."
Giannis Antetokounmpo calls Dončić an all-time scorer
Heat star Giannis Antetokounmpo, who finished with 30 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists in the loss, offered the kind of praise reserved for the top of the sport’s history.
Antetokounmpo, a two-time MVP averaging 28.4 points this season, nearly 10 fewer than Dončić, was weighing in from a vantage point of nearly 22,000 career points. The numbers behind the claim, as ESPN laid them out: Dončić’s career scoring average of 29.32 points trails only Michael Jordan (30.12) and Wilt Chamberlain (30.07).
Per Lakers: Walker Kessler posted his 60th career double-double in tonight’s win over Miami. It marked his third consecutive double-double, tying the third-longest such streak of his career.
It just feels almost anything he shoots, whether it’s a circus shot or regular step-back three, or it’s a tough floater, it just seems like everything he’s shooting is going to go in… I don’t think I’ve ever been on the court when everything somebody shoots, you think it’s going in. So, kind of crazy little heater he’s on for sure.
Dončić said, It feels good, but when we win, it feels way better. That’s the only important stuff.
Reaves, Kessler and a 39-assist night
The win was not a one-man act. Austin Reaves scored 27 points on 10-of-15 shooting, and the two guards combined for 69 points on 24-of-39 from the field, according to the Miami Herald. Center Walker Kessler added 15 points and 15 rebounds.
Opponents blitzed Dončić with two and three defenders, and the Lakers responded by moving the ball: Los Angeles recorded 39 assists against Miami, the most for the team since coach JJ Redick took over in 2024, and went 37-for-80 from 3 over the past two games while scoring 269 total points, per the NBA.
LUKA'S GOT 40 PTS 🔥 HIS NBA-LEADING 4th 40-PT GAME. Lakers lead in Q4! pic.twitter.com/Z3FlByRi66
Everybody is in the right spots and shooting with confidence.
The Heat, meanwhile, could not solve the Lakers defensively. Miami entered with the NBA’s 26th-ranked defensive rating and allowed 138 points on 57% shooting, a total tied for the 12th-most in franchise history, the Herald reported. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra was blunt afterward: It's not good enough… We need to be just a whole lot more consistent defensively.
Bam Adebayo finished with 16 points, nine rebounds and four assists.
Number of 40+ PTS, 10+ AST & 5+ REB Games before turning 28: 31 — Luka Dončić 23 — Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, LeBron James & Nikola Jokić COMBINED pic.twitter.com/8pEZJEvIiI
Lakers face the Kings next
Dončić’s next chance to extend the run comes Wednesday night, when the Lakers travel to face the Sacramento Kings, who are 1-6, according to Sports Illustrated. The Heat continue their own West Coast trip against the Clippers on Wednesday.
In the seven games this season that Luka Dončić has played, the Lakers have outscored their opponents by 113 points with him on the court.
More on Miami Heat
Final Stats 📊 Luka: 42 pts, 7 reb, 13 ast AR: 27 pts, 5 ast Walker: 15 pts, 15 reb Mamu: 13 pts, 4 ast pic.twitter.com/xLWhRgWbul
Another game, another Luka masterpiece 💯 42 PTS 13 AST 6 3PM @lukadoncic now owns the most games (19) in NBA history with 40+ PTS, 10+ AST and 5+ 3PM… Lakers moved to 6-2 on the season! pic.twitter.com/ukAdsfDM8a
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