The Los Angeles Lakers overcame a fourth-quarter deficit to get a high-scoring road win over the Utah Jazz last night. That allowed them to keep pace with the San Antonio Spurs for third in the Western Conference as Wemby and crew got an easy win over the Washington Wizards.
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Luka Doncic, as he usually is, was the star of the Lakers’ Show with 45 points on 14-28 shooting, 11 rebounds and 14 assists. To complement, he even swiped five steals for good measure. That put him in rare company, as Cade Cunningham earlier this year is the only player to ever record a 45-point triple-double with five steals.
Despite the gaudy stats, Luka finished the game with a plus/minus of -5, admitting that he could play even better.
“I think, honestly, I could do some more,” he said after the game. “But I think that one turnover is the best, stat-wise, on the stat sheet. We had seven turnovers, which is impressive for us, and we won the game, and in the end, that’s what matters. But I think we locked in a lot in the second half. We did a great job.”
Led by Luka, the Lakers have been outstanding offensively. They’re currently sixth in the league in offensive rating, but turnovers have been a slight issue. They’re giving the ball away 15.1 times per game, which is a higher rate than 17 other teams.
For all his great qualities, Luka has been the driving force behind that, as he’s currently leading the league with 4.2 turnovers per game. It’s understandable since the ball is in his hands so often, but still, it’s something he and the Lakers clearly want to clean up. That’s why he was so happy about only turning it over once.
In an interview that aired before the game, Luka admitted to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin that even though he’s scoring at his highest rate ever, he doesn’t believe he’s playing the best basketball of his career.
“I feel like I can play better a lot of nights,” he said. “I don’t know if this is the best basketball I’m playing just because of points. I feel like I can do way more stuff.”
Luka cited his defense and his turnovers as two areas he wants to keep improving in, but one area that he and the team are already elite is how they play in the clutch. The win last night moved the Lakers to 10-0 in clutch games, which the NBA defines as a game which is within five points at any point with five minutes or less to play in the fourth quarter or overtime.
Needless to say, that’s the best mark in the league. The next closest team is the 25-2 Thunder, who are 9-2 in such situations. Shockingly, the Lakers have actually played better clutch defense than OKC, and better clutch D than anyone in the league, in fact.
It’s a small sample size, but their 93.6 clutch defensive rating could be a sign that their poor defensive reputation isn’t entirely deserved.
In a league where Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic exist, Luka, even though he believes he has the potential for more, is still playing at an MVP level. The Lakers are looking good at 19-7, and if he can somehow level up even more, the rest of the league could be in real trouble.
