The Slovenian enchanted once again, producing his second best scoring performance of this season. His contribution was fundamental in the yellow and purple victory 129-118 on the Chicago pitch.
The Lakers began a five-game series against East Coast opponents with a convincing victory against Chicago (118-129), a team coming off a four-game winning streak.
LeBron James led the yellow and purple in the first half, scoring 20 of his final 24 points, but the second half belonged entirely to Luka Doncic.
The Slovenian star dominated at the United Center with a rousing third quarter in which he scored 20 points.
Doncic finished with 46 points, the result of an excellent 15 of 25 from the field, as well as 11 assists and 8 triples made, his season high.
Previously, only Kobe Bryant among the Lakers had managed to score a game with at least 45 points, 10 assists and 5 triples.
The night was doubly special for Doncic, who became the fastest player to reach 2,000 points in the gold and purple jersey worn by NBA legends such as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.
The Slovenian, who arrived midway through last season in a controversial trade from the Dallas Mavericks, took just 65 games with the Lakers to reach 2,000 points.
The previous record belonged to a 1950s legend, George Mikan, who reached the milestone in 72 games.
Despite the Bulls’ loss, the Chicago crowd enjoyed some spectacular plays in the fourth quarter, such as Lakers center Jaxson Hayes’ fast-break dunk, who passed the ball under his legs.
Another great performance on Monday came from Donovan Mitchell, the star of the fast-paced Cleveland Cavaliers.
The All-Star guard scored 45 points in the Cavs’ 114-98 victory against the Orlando Magic, in which Paolo Banchero stood out with 37 points and 10 rebounds.
Mitchell is now tied with Doncic, Stephen Curry (Warriors) and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Thunder) as the only players with three games of at least 45 points this season.
Despite the absence of Darius Garland, Cleveland achieved its fourth consecutive victory, thus moving up to fifth place in the East.
Keep reading
