Luka Doncic Scores 45, 15 Rebounds as Lakers Beat Raptors 131-125

Luka Doncic scored 45 points and grabbed 15 rebounds Sunday night to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a 131-125 victory over the Toronto Raptors, extending his streak of games with at least 37 points to five in a row, The Morning Call reported.

Doncic followed that performance Monday night with 42 points, 13 assists and seven rebounds in a comfortable win over the Miami Heat, giving him back-to-back monster nights in the Lakers’ downtown arena. Over the five-game stretch he has topped 40 points four times, hit 34 three-pointers and shot 53.1% from the field, The Morning Call reported.

Five straight games of 37-plus, four of them 40-plus

The streak began with a 52-point outburst in Utah. Doncic then scored 41 and 37 in two losses before the weekend’s two wins, The Morning Call reported. Across his last four games he has averaged 43.7 points, according to MARCA.

Doncic reached the 37-point mark within the first three quarters against Toronto and closed out the win in the final minutes, becoming the 20th time he has scored 40 or more in his 98 regular-season games with the Lakers, the Chicago Tribune reported. MARCA noted he is also the first player in franchise history to average 37.7 points per game — while leading the league in scoring — over the first seven games of the season.

A statistical line never seen before in the NBA

The Toronto game produced a box score MARCA described as unprecedented: Doncic became the first player in NBA history to record at least 15 rebounds, five assists, five steals and five three-pointers in one game. He finished with 15 rebounds (a season high, all defensive), six assists, five steals and eight threes, MARCA reported. He also became the first player to pile up at least 20 points, five rebounds, five steals and five threes in a single half, according to MARCA.

“Obviously, I’m not the best defender in the NBA, but I think this year I really took a step forward,” he said, per MARCA. He added: “It’s clear that people are going to say what they want about me… But I know, and my team knows, that this year I’m better.”

Teammates and coach on the run

“It feels good, but when we win, it feels a lot better. That’s the only thing that matters,” he said, per The Morning Call. On scoring big on consecutive nights, he added: “Obviously, it feels good to score, but when you win by 20 against a team like Miami, it’s really incredible, especially on back-to-back nights.”

Head coach JJ Redick put it in cosmic terms. “It feels like a supernova, but it also feels normal. We live in a spaceship, and we’re going at the speed of light all the time when he’s on the court,” Redick said, per The Morning Call. “When he’s on, it’s pick your poison, because he can make any shot. And then you start putting two on the ball, and everybody else benefits from that. He’s a formidable offensive engine.”

How the Lakers turned the Toronto game

Los Angeles led Toronto 102-76 with 90 seconds left in the third quarter, the Chicago Tribune reported, but the Raptors cut the margin to single digits before Doncic and Austin Reaves sparked a 9-1 run. Toronto’s bench then scored 11 points in 40 seconds after the Lakers pulled their starters with 1:43 remaining, shrinking a 16-point deficit to 125-120 and forcing Doncic, Reaves and Walker Kessler back for the final possessions.

The Lakers had rebounded from a 17-point loss at Golden State on Friday in which they squandered a 25-point lead, the Chicago Tribune reported. Against Toronto, Reaves scored 19 and Kessler added 16 points and 15 rebounds; Scottie Barnes scored 29 and RJ Barrett 22 for the Raptors, who were playing without Kawhi Leonard for a fourth straight game because of a knee injury.

Adjustments against defenses selling out on Doncic

Opponents have responded to Doncic’s hot start by loading up on him well beyond the three-point line, The Morning Call reported. The Lakers have countered by having Doncic attack out of those traps with creative passes, opening the court for his teammates. Los Angeles made 37 of 80 from three over the two games and scored 269 points total, The Morning Call reported.

“It’s not just me, it’s everybody. Everybody’s in the right spots and shooting with confidence,” Doncic said, per The Morning Call. The Lakers dished out 39 assists against Miami — their most in a game since Redick took over in 2024 — and lead the league in team field-goal percentage, with Kessler the most accurate individual shooter in the NBA thanks in part to the lobs Doncic and teammates have thrown him, The Morning Call reported.

A 6-2 start built around Doncic

The Lakers are 6-2 despite carrying nine new players after another busy offseason, The Morning Call reported, and they are finding cohesion behind their Slovenian star. Austin Reaves, who scored 27 against Miami, said: “It’s fun. Luka is doing incredible things, and when he does that, it just opens up the floor for everybody else to play loose and with confidence.”

With LeBron James now gone, the Lakers’ new-look roster is getting an early glimpse of what it can be with Doncic at the center of it, The Morning Call reported. Cameron Carr, Los Angeles’ first-round draft pick, made his debut against Toronto after missing the first six games with a muscle problem, MARCA reported.

Doncic’s scoring surge also puts him at the front of the early MVP conversation, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokic, Anthony Edwards, Victor Wembanyama and Tyrese Maxey among the alternatives named by Gigantes del Basket, which projects this could be Doncic’s year.

Doncic’s streak of at least 37 points in five consecutive games is setting the tone for the Lakers in their first season without LeBron James.

Earlier coverage: Luka Dončić scores 45 points as Lakers beat Raptors

More on this story: Luka Doncic Makes NBA History with Historic 45-Point Triple-Double Performance in Lakers' Win Over Raptors · Luka Dončić leads Los Angeles Lakers to victory over Toronto Raptors

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