The Los Angeles Lakers entered Thursday night's game on a two-game losing streak and dealing with a wave of injuries, including key players like LeBron James, Rui Hachimura, and Jaxson Hayes.
While the team has been working to stay afloat without James, who was upgraded to day-to-day after sustaining an injury against the Boston Celtics on Saturday, Luka Doncic stepped up in a big way against the Milwaukee Bucks.
In an impressive first-half performance, Doncic kept the Lakers in the game, scoring nearly half of the team's points. Although L.A. trailed 71-63 at halftime, Doncic had already put up 29 points, seven rebounds, two assists, two steals, and one block in just 19 minutes of play.
With his dominant first-half showing, Doncic joined elite company as one of the only Lakers players to record 25-plus points, five-plus rebounds, and five-plus made 3-pointers in a single half. He also became just the second Laker, joining Kobe Bryant in 2013, to have eight consecutive 20-point games.
Luka Doncic joins LeBron James & Kobe Bryant as the only Lakers to have a single half recording:
25+ PTS
5+ REB
5+ 3PM pic.twitter.com/Ts1rotPaWC
— StatMamba (@StatMamba) March 14, 2025
Since acquiring Doncic, the Lakers have made a strong push up the Western Conference standings, positioning themselves to compete for a top-five seed as the postseason approaches. However, with multiple key injuries hitting the roster, they've recently slipped back down to the No. 4 seed.
Entering Thursday night with a 40-23 record, the Lakers are gearing up for the first game of a back-to-back, with a matchup against the Denver Nuggets set for Friday. Unfortunately, it's expected that James, Hachimura, and Hayes-who are all starters under head coach JJ Redick-will remain sidelined for the game.
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This story was originally published March 13, 2025 at 9:08 PM.