Luka Doncic is the best "don't poke the bear" player that the NBA has to offer. The Chicago Bulls clearly missed the memo on that one, and the Los Angeles Lakers superstar made them face all of the consequences for it on Thursday night.
The Lakers came away with a high-scoring 142-130 win over the Bulls at Crypto.com Arena. The driving force behind that result was Doncic. The all-world talent hammered home 51 points in the win, nearly making it a triple-double with 10 rebounds and nine assists. There were also three steals and one block as sweetener.
This was all the Bulls' own doing. In particular, it was Matas Buzelis who decided to talk his trash to Doncic, forgetting who the superstar on the other end of the equation was. Luka lives for the moments of quieting down his competition. The Bulls sophomore lit the fuse to his own demise.
"I don't even know what to say, honestly," Buzelis said of exchanging words with Doncic. "... I don't back down from anybody, no matter who you are. I took on the challenge and didn't execute."
When asked of his takeaway from the experience, Buzelis added: "Probably not to talk to him."
Luka Doncic will dish out cold medicine to anyone who asks for it
Doncic has a reputation. You talk to him, and he will spit fire back at you before following it up with some of the best basketball you have ever seen.
Time and time again, there is always someone foolish enough to try their luck. Over and over they face consequences akin to what the Bulls had to suffer through on Thursday. Doncic will talk the talk and walk the walk any day of the week.
Smoking that Suns pack 🚬#NBAPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/ItnKnXBqXq
— Svyatoslav Rovenchuk (@JJBuckets17) May 16, 2022
Go out and ask the Phoenix Suns how talking trash to Doncic worked out for them in the 2022 Western Conference Semi-Finals. Rudy Gobert and the Minnesota Timberwolves learned their lesson in 2024 as well. Kris Dunn still has to fight for his life every time he guards Luka because of their previous meetings.
His own head coach has talked about the perfect balance Doncic emobides when he's on a court. When JJ Redick was still a podcast host, he captured just how much the Lakers superstar point guard can have his fun with the sport before flipping the switch and becoming 'an absolute psycho.'
The competitive juice seen on the NBA floor will always set up these situations where there will be another guy ready and willing to step to Doncic. The mistake will be theirs to make.