LeBron James wasn’t there. It didn’t matter.
Luka Doncic made sure of that.
The Slovenian superstar dropped 44 points in just three quarters Friday night at Crypto.com Arena, carrying the Los Angeles Lakers to a 128-117 win over the Indiana Pacers. No LeBron. No problem. Doncic did what he does — he took over a game and refused to let his team lose.
The win pushes the Lakers to 38-25 on the season, just half a game back of the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference after Denver fell on the same night. Every game feels a little more meaningful now. And when Luka is locked in like this, the Lakers look like a genuinely scary team.
Luka Doncic Makes Lakers History
Let’s not bury the lead: 44 points. Seven three-pointers. A 14-for-25 shooting night. Nine rebounds. Five assists. All of that in three quarters before head coach JJ Redick sat him down with the game firmly in hand.
Doncic scored 22 points in the first quarter alone — the fifth time this season he’s topped 20 in an opening period. That’s the most such first quarters by any player in the NBA in at least 30 years. Think about that for a second. What we’re watching isn’t normal.
He also became just the fourth Laker in franchise history to score 40+ points in at least 10 games in a single season. The other three? Kobe Bryant. Elgin Baylor. Jerry West. That’s the company Luka is keeping in purple and gold. He’s also now logged more 40-point games than any other player in the NBA this season, passing Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards.
The capper? With five seconds left in the third quarter, trailing on the shot clock, Doncic rose and banked in his seventh three of the night. The crowd lost its mind. It was that kind of night.
Lakers Survive Without LeBron James
James sat out Friday to manage the wear and tear on his 41-year-old body — a collection of minor injuries that add up over the course of a 23rd NBA season. In most games, losing LeBron changes everything. Against a Pacers team that’s lost eight straight since the All-Star break, it changed nothing.
The Lakers didn’t miss a beat.
Austin Reaves chipped in 19 points, doing the dirty work he always does — drawing fouls, hitting shots in traffic, keeping the defense honest. He fouled out with under five minutes left, only the second time in his career he’s been disqualified. By then, the Lakers had already won.
Luke Kennard quietly had one of his better nights — 15 points, seven rebounds, shooting 6-for-9 from the field. When Kennard is hitting like that, the Lakers become nearly impossible to guard. Marcus Smart celebrated his 32nd birthday by posting 11 points and making life difficult for Indiana’s guards all night.
Indiana Pacers Continue Their Post-All-Star Freefall
For the Pacers, this was the fifth consecutive blowout loss in a stretch that’s growing uglier by the week. At 15-48, Indiana is firmly in lottery territory, and no amount of late-game garbage time points changes what’s happening with this team.
Pascal Siakam was terrific — 26 points, working hard, doing everything he could. Andrew Nembhard added 17. But the Pacers shot a dismal 2-for-19 from three in the first half. You can’t win NBA games that way, not against a Lakers squad that knocked down 17 three-pointers at a 45.9% clip.
The Pacers head to Portland on Sunday.
Lakers Look Dangerous at the Right Time of Year
This team is peaking. The Lakers have now won four of their last five, and with Denver stumbling, they’re climbing back into seeding conversations that matter. They’re healthy enough. They have Doncic in full flight. And even without LeBron, they showed they can handle a full NBA game without breaking a sweat.
March basketball has a different energy to it. Stakes are higher. The margins get tighter. And right now, the Lakers look like a team that wants it.
Luka Doncic is making sure of that one masterclass at a time.
Don't stop here
Every Score. Every Story. One Home.
Breaking sports, entertainment and news from across the Total Apex network, updated all day.
Get the Full Story →
