LOS ANGELES — Must win. Make or break.
However you want to qualify it, the stretch of games the Lakers are midway through was supposed to be bruising, a test to see if they could stretch their star power into consistent results.
Luka Doncic, single-handedly, might have something to say about the challenging stretch, and the Lakers’ chances come April. The Slovenian star scored his Lakers career high with 51 points on 17-for-31 shooting, just missing a triple-double with 10 rebounds and nine assists in a 142-130 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Thursday night.
Doncic reached the 40-point barrier before the fourth quarter, the second time in the Lakers’ past four games that he had eclipsed 40 before the final period. He tied his previous season-high at 49 points with 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions, before heading to the free-throw line with 1:44 remaining to drain free throws for his new purple-and-gold benchmark and exited to a well-deserved ovation at home.
The wins – four straight and seven in their past eight games – continue to stack as the Lakers (41-25) head into their final game of the homestand on Saturday before a six-game trip that will devour a week and a half. Center Deandre Ayton recorded his second straight double-double (23 points, 10 rebounds), while Austin Reaves finished with 30 points, seven rebounds and five assists, as the Lakers’ second-leading scorer. LeBron James added 18 points, seven rebounds and seven assists in his return after missing three games because of injuries.
Doncic, going head to head with Bulls forward Matas Buzelis on Thursday, relished the matchup against the budding European star. Up and down the court they went in the first half, when Doncic led the Lakers with 24 points and Buzelis paced the Bulls with 17 points, their chirping leading to an eventual conversation with the game officials. Doncic got the last laugh with less than five minutes remaining, shifting Buzelis outside of the baseline under the basket as he reached 43 points and provided the Lakers with an 18-point lead.
As the fans trickled back into their seats as the third quarter got underway, James seemingly put a cap on what had been an otherwise tight contest – the Lakers led by just five at halftime – before the home faithful could put their drinks in their cup holders at Crypto.com Arena.
James stormed down the court for a one-handed dunk as Bulls guard Josh Giddey weaved out of the way to avoid the freight train headed his way. James’ burst, more than a factor at 41 as he played against a Chicago roster with a mean age of 25 years old, echoed on the defensive end with veteran guard Marcus Smart unavailable and out with a right hip injury.
A deflected pass from Buzelis bounced toward the courtside seats. James, using every inch of his frame, reached the ball before possession returned to Chicago and flicked the ball to his teammates in wait. Running the fast break, Doncic found Rui Hachimura wide open for a 3-pointer and a 72-62 lead, tying the Lakers’ largest to that point. Midway through the third, Reaves made a 3-pointer, the team’s fifth of the period on a night when they finished 17 for 36 overall. That extended the lead to 22 points as part of a 26-9 run to begin the half.
When the Bulls (27-39) looked like they might make the game difficult for the Lakers in the fourth quarter, cutting the margin to seven points on a pair of free throws from Tyus Jones, Reaves connected for back-to-back baskets (step-backs of the 3-point and mid-range variety).
Reaves’ second shot returned the lead to 12 points – forcing Bulls coach Billy Donovan to call a timeout with 7:50 remaining – and gave him 5,000 career points, becoming the first undrafted Laker since George Mikan to score all 5,000 with the franchise.
#### BY THE NUMBERS
In addition to it being his first 50-point game as a Laker, it was Doncic’s 13th 40-point game in 82 appearances with the team, moving him into ninth in franchise history. … The Lakers’ four-game winning streak is their longest since running off seven in a row Nov. 14-30. … The Lakers moved ahead of the idle Houston Rockets into third place in the tightly packed Western Conference standings (seeds 3-7 are separated by just two games).