Dave McMenamin
Multiple Authors
LOS ANGELES — After Luka Doncic scored 42 points with 12 assists in the Lakers’ 127-113 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday, Lakers coach JJ Redick heaped major praise on his superstar for his performance in the month of March he just closed out.
“I think Luka has had as good of a month as anybody that I can remember in the modern NBA, at least since I’ve been part of it,” Redick said.
It was Doncic’s third straight 40-point game, lifting his March scoring total to 600 points — joining Michael Jordan in 1987 as the only other player to reach the mark in March, and one of only 10 players ever to score 600 points in any month.
As dominant as Doncic was, so too were the Lakers, finishing the month with a 15-2 record.
“If you don’t win, it doesn’t really mean anything,” Doncic said when asked about his scoring spree. “So the run we’ve been on, it means a lot.”
For Doncic, who eclipsed 15,000 career points during the game and thoroughly outperformed Cleveland star Donovan Mitchell — who finished with 10 points on 4-for-10 shooting and six assists — it was also another MVP-type performance.
But he once again refrained from being his own advocate for the award.
“I never did that [in the past],” Doncic said. “I’m not the one voting … But I think I’ve been playing pretty good. We’ve been winning. So that’s it. That’s all I got to say.”
The win over the Cavs was notable for more than just Doncic.
It was the 1,229th win of LeBron James’ career — between the regular season and the playoffs — passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most wins by any player in NBA history.
It was also the 100th win of Redick’s coaching career as he became the first Lakers coach since Phil Jackson to guide the team to 50 wins in back-to-back seasons.
“Don’t deserve to be mentioned along with Phil or Pat [Riley] or any of those guys,” Redick said. “I’ve got a lot left to accomplish for sure. … I’ve had the same [coaching] staff for the most part both years. I think just we are resilient and we’re resolved.”
And they are almost at the finish line to the regular season, clinching a playoff berth Tuesday with six games remaining.
Two of those six games are against the Oklahoma City Thunder, starting Thursday on the road.
Just like Cleveland beat L.A. by 30 earlier in the season and this improved version of the Lakers exacted some revenge Tuesday, the Lakers will have a chance to make up for two losses to the Thunder so far this season — including one loss by 29 points.
And as hot as Doncic and the Lakers were in March, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder went 14-1, with the reigning MVP averaging 30.7 points on 56.8% and 6.6 assists for the month.
“Very exciting [matchup],” Lakers guard Austin Reaves said. “Obviously they’re the defending champs. Playing at a high level, obviously one of the best teams in the league, if not the best team. And we have an opportunity to go into OKC and battle them.”
Leave a Reply