Latest news with #LukaDonc
USA Today
21-03-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Lakers player grades: Short-handed Lakers lose big to the Bucks
The Los Angeles Lakers looked to have an opportunity to win their fourth straight game when the Milwaukee Bucks headed to Arena. However, hours before the opening tip, the team apparently decided that good health was more important than a win on this night. Luka Dončić, Austin Reaves, Dorian Finney-Smith and Jarred Vanderbilt were ruled out, and they joined LeBron James and Rui Hachimura on the bench. As a result, the Lakers were severely short-handed against a Bucks team that is fighting to stay in fifth place in the Eastern Conference. They simply couldn't even compete with a Bucks team that was mostly whole other than star guard Damian Lillard. They were down by 15 at the end of the first quarter and by 11 at halftime, and that deficit grew to as many as 35 points. In the end, they fell by a final score of 118-89. Los Angeles shot just 41.5% from the field, and it committed 22 turnovers, several of which were unforced and sloppy. Interestingly, it had 26 assists on 34 made field goals, which is an impressive ratio, but it simply didn't have enough healthy bodies to have a real shot at victory. This loss ended a nine-game home winning streak for the Lakers. They still, however, have the third-fewest losses at home of any NBA team so far this season. With a 43-26 record, the Purple and Gold have slipped back into fourth place in the Western Conference and trail the second-place Houston Rockets by 1.5 games. Markieff Morris: C Morris looked to be aggressive offensively in a rare appearance for him. The book on him seems to be to chase him off the 3-point line, so he looked to drive off the dribble and set up mid-range shots. Unfortunately, his shot didn't fall that often. He went 3-of-11 from the field and missed all but one of his six 3-point attempts. He finished with nine points, four rebounds, two assists and one block in 28 minutes. Jaxson Hayes: B/B-plus Hayes played fairly hard, and he had a couple of thunderous dunks. In all, he scored nine points on 4-of-5 shooting, and he even tried a 3-pointer, which he missed. He also added five rebounds and three assists in 16 minutes. Gabe Vincent: D-plus/C-minus Vincent struggled with his shot all evening long. Without James, Doncic or Reaves to play off of, he got very few clean looks, and that was a factor in him going 3-of-12 overall and 2-of-7 from 3-point range. He ended up with nine points and chipped in four assists and two rebounds in 25 minutes. Jordan Goodwin: B-plus Goodwin had some trouble with his ball-handling early, which resulted in him committing three turnovers. But other than that, he continued to show the promise that has been on display ever since he was called up from the G League. He scored eight points and hit two of his three attempts from downtown, and he also contributed eight rebounds, five assists, two blocks and one steal in 31 minutes. Dalton Knecht: B-minus This looked like a great opportunity for Knecht to have a huge game, just as he did last Friday when he exploded for 32 points with James, Doncic, Hachimura, Hayes, Finney-Smith and Vincent out of action. But he was awful with his shooting through three quarters on Thursday. During that span, he missed all but one of his eight shot attempts, including both of his 3-point attempts. However, he started to get himself going in the fourth quarter. In that final period, he went 4-of-6 overall and 3-of-4 from downtown, which allowed him to finish with 17 points. He also helped out with four rebounds, three assists and one steal in 31 minutes. Alex Len: B-plus Len hasn't played a ton since joining the Lakers from the buyout market last month, but this was the best game he's had since then. He scored 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting, which included a 3-pointer, and he grabbed nine rebounds in 17 minutes. He likely won't earn himself more playing time with this performance, but it did prove he can contribute a little bit when needed. Cam Reddish: D-plus In just his second appearance in a game since late January, Reddish went 1-of-6 from the field and finished with two points, four rebounds and two steals. Shake Milton: C-plus In 23 minutes, Milton shot 2-of-6 overall and scored four points while contributing six rebounds and three assists and using up all six of his fouls. Trey Jemison III: B Jemison helped out in 16 minutes with four points on 2-of-3 shooting and five rebounds. Bronny James: A This may have been the biggest night of the younger James' basketball career so far. He has had some big nights in the G League, but he hasn't had a game in the NBA like the one he had on Thursday. With the Lakers short on available players, he checked into the game with 5:28 left in the third quarter, and he hit a short shot in the lane moments later. Late in the first quarter, he threw a pinpoint outlet pass to a streaking Morris for a fast-break layup. Later on, he confidently stepped into a 3-pointer that he made, and it was all an omen of things to come. The rookie guard ended up with 17 points on 7-of-10 overall shooting and 2-of-4 from 3-point land, five assists, three rebounds and one block in 30 minutes. This performance didn't prove that he's ready for NBA minutes, but it did prove that he could have some real NBA potential down the road.
USA Today
20-03-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Luka Dončić, Lakers hold off Nuggets, move up Western Conference standings
LOS ANGELES -- Luka Dončić led the way for the Los Angeles Lakers in their 120-108 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night. Dončić scored 25 of his 31 points in the first half against the Nuggets in a game in which Los Angeles led by as many as 28 points. Los Angeles' quick start led to 46 points in the first quarter, the most the team had scored in any single quarter this season. The Lakers also set a franchise mark with nine three-pointers made in a single quarter. Austin Reaves nearly produced a double-double with 22 points and eight assists as part of the Lakers' offensive attack. The Lakers were without LeBron James and Rui Hachimura while the Nuggets were missing Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray in the starting lineup of a crucial game for both teams. Center Aaron Gordon scored a team-high 26 points for Denver. The Lakers (43-25) move into third place in the Western Conference standings with the victory. The Lakers were one game behind the Nuggets (44-26) coming into the game on Wednesday. Both teams are 13.5 games behind the Oklahoma City Thunder (57-12), which sits atop the conference standings. Luka Dončić stats vs. Nuggets Points: 31 31 FG: 10-for-21 10-for-21 3PT : 4-for-9 : 4-for-9 FT : 7-for-10 : 7-for-10 Rebounds: 9 9 Assists: 7 7 Steals: 2 2 Blocks: 1 1 Turnovers: 6 6 Fouls: 3 3 Minutes played: 32:16 LeBron James update: Lakers star misses another game with groin injury Lakers' next game The Lakers will host the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday and the Chicago Bulls on Saturday before playing the next four games on the road.
USA Today
09-03-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
How many points did Luka Doncic score tonight? Lakers vs. Celtics stats
Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Dončić returned to Boston Saturday to play against a familiar foe. Dončić fell short of a championship last season as the Boston Celtics knocked off the Dallas Mavericks 4-1 in the NBA Finals. Dončić has averaged 23.8 points, 8.1 rebounds and 8.1 assists in his first 10 games with the Lakers. He was listed as probable on the team's injury report with a right knee contusion but was good to go and in the starting lineup. Here's how Dončić performed Saturday night: Luka Doncic stats vs. Celtics Points: 34 34 FG: 11-for-22 11-for-22 3PT : 5-for-10 : 5-for-10 FT : 7-for-8 : 7-for-8 Rebounds: 8 8 Assists: 3 3 Steals: 1 1 Blocks: 0 0 Turnovers: 5 5 Fouls: 2 2 Minutes played: 37 Lakers vs. Celtics highlights Lakers' next game The Lakers will travel to play the Brooklyn Nets on Monday, March 10 (7:30 p.m. ET). The game will air on Spectrum SportsNet and the YES Network.
USA Today
20-02-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
How many points did Luka Doncic score tonight? Lakers vs. Hornets stats
Hear this story Luka Dončić gave Los Angeles Lakers fans a taste of what the team's blockbuster trade with the Dallas Mavericks could mean for them before the NBA's All-Star break. But the relationship between the Slovenian superstar and one of the league's most glamorous franchises began in full on Wednesday, when the Lakers hosted the Charlotte Hornets in the teams' first game back from All-Star Weekend festivities in San Francisco. The Lakers began their push towards the NBA playoffs with a matchup that was rescheduled by the NBA last month due to the wildfires that caused so much damage throughout the Los Angeles area. It also pitted two teams that joined together on a trade that appeared to be completed ahead of the league's trade deadline earlier this month only to then be rescinded by the Lakers over a failed physical by Hornets center Mark Williams. This was Williams' first game back with Charlotte since the trade fell through and the first game since Lakers coach JJ Redick said he didn't expect Dončić to be on a minutes restriction anymore after returning from a recent calf injury. Dončić averaged 23.5 minutes, 15 points, 4 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 3 turnovers on 11 of 27 shooting in his first two appearances with the Lakers. Here's how Dončić performed in his third Lakers game ‒ and second home game ‒ Wednesday night against the Charlotte Hornets: INTERNATIONAL HOOPS:Kyrie Irving wants to play for Australia at 2028 Los Angeles Olympics All things Lakers: Latest Los Angeles Lakers news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more. Luka Dončić stats Wednesday vs. Hornets Points: 14 FG: 5-for-18 3PT: 1-for-9 FT: 3-for-4 Rebounds: 11 Assists: 8 Steals: 1 Blocks: 0 Turnovers: 6 Fouls: 5 Minutes played: 33 Lakers' next game This was the first of three games in four nights for the Lakers coming out of the All-Star break. The Lakers play at the Portland Trail Blazers Thursday night and then visit the Denver Nuggets on Saturday. The Lakers then return home to Arena for what should be a charged matchup with the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday, Feb. 25. It will be the teams' first meeting since the shocking trade that sent Doncic from Dallas to Los Angeles in exchange for Anthony Davis.
