Doncic & James Lead Mavericks Past Grizzlies | Game Recap

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Luka Doncic and LeBron James teamed up for nights like these. The two Los Angeles Lakers superstars each surpassed 30 points in a game for the first time this season.

Doncic scored 34 points, making 17 of 20 free throws, and added six rebounds and eight assists. James had 31 points on 12-of-18 shooting, along with nine rebounds and six assists.

The Lakers rallied to beat the depleted Memphis Grizzlies 128-121 on Friday night.

It was the third time overall that Doncic and James scored 30 or more points in the same game. It happened twice in March, a month after Doncic joined the Lakers in a blockbuster trade from Dallas.

“Just playing in rhythm. Trying to find ways we can be productive,” said James, the NBA’s oldest active player who turned 41 on Tuesday. “Luka did a great job getting to the free throw line. Me, just trying to contribute a little bit here, a little bit there. Just trying to be consistent and super efficient with my game. We work well with each other.”

Doncic’s 17 free throws were one shy of his career-high, while his 20 attempts were a season high. As a team, the Grizzlies were 15 of 23 from the line.

“Just trying to get to the rim a lot more than usual for me,” Doncic said. “But for him, he’s just playing his game, attacking what he sees, being efficient and helping us win games.”

The Lakers improved to 11-0 in downtime wins this season. The game was tied twice in the fourth quarter, as the teams traded one-point leads into the final five and a half minutes. James had ten points in the period and Doncic had six. Combined, they had five assists and three rebounds.

“He was phenomenal,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said of James. “There were just a few moments where they made runs and the response from him, it felt like almost every time we needed a basket, he just made it.”

At one point, Doncic threw a long pass to James.

“One of the best quarterbacks and I’m a pretty good receiver when it comes down to it,” James said. “It’s my job to not let the defense break that or steal the ball. He put it on time and on target for me.”

Doncic and James received a lot of help from their teammates. Jake LaRavia had 21 points and nine rebounds and Marcus Smart had 13 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Jaxson Hayes added 12 off the bench.

“Them doing that actually takes the pressure and the burden off of LeBron and Luka,” Redick added.

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