Los Angeles Lakers superstar Luka Doncic put the NBA on notice when he made the shocking statement that he felt as though he hadn't played a good game in the purple and gold yet. He said it after performances that included scoring 32 points against the Denver Nuggets and posting a triple-double against the Dallas Mavericks.
On Tuesday, Mar. 4, Doncic finally had what even he can't deny was a great game as the Lakers defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 136-115.
On a night when Los Angeles' dominant defense faltered, Doncic helped the purple and gold prove they can score with the best of them. In addition to putting up 136 points, the Lakers shot 53.3 percent from the field and buried 19 three-point field goals.
LeBron James was a catalyst, dropping a team-high 34 points and becoming the first player in NBA history to eclipse 50,000 career points between the regular season and playoffs.
Not enough can be said about how great James was, nor how stellar the supporting cast proved to be. Jaxson Hayes posted 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Dalton Knecht, Shake Milton, and Jarred Vanderbilt led the second unit to a productive evening.
It was Doncic, however, who proved to be the primary source of the Lakers' offensive eruption with both his scoring and facilitating taking center stage.
Luka Doncic proves Lakers' offense is unstoppable when he's on
Doncic finished the win over the Pelicans with 30 points, 15 assists, eight rebounds, one block, and a steal. He shot 9-of-19 from the field and 6-of-13 from beyond the arc, overcoming a poor performance at the free throw line to dominate overall.
Less than a month after making his team debut, Doncic joined James, Magic Johnson, and Jerry West as the only players in Lakers history to post at least 30 points and 15 assists in a single game.
The fact that Doncic has already etched his name into the record books with the three greatest playmakers in Lakers history is an absurd accomplishment. It's even crazier to think that this is par for the course as far as his individual production is concerned.
Doncic has posted at least 30 points and 15 assists in 17 different regular-season games during his already storied NBA career.
The Lakers have now seen first hand just how dominant Doncic is capable of being on the offensive end of the floor. Not only can he score at a league-leading level, but he can set teammates up with remarkable volume and precision.
Considering Doncic boasts career averages of 28.5 points and 8.3 assists per game, it's safe to say he can sustain this form.
Moving forward, the Lakers will have a unique opportunity to rely on an offensive juggernaut on a nightly basis. It's not just that he can explode at any given moment, but that Doncic's baseline performances are truly generational.
The Lakers have now had the opportunity to bear witness to that extraordinary truth, with Doncic officially establishing himself as the new franchise player.