The Los Angeles Lakers entered Wednesday on a two-game win streak, despite losing four of their last six games. However, with Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray sidelined for the Denver Nuggets, L.A. has a prime opportunity to secure a third win and continue closing the gap on the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference, with just over 10 games remaining in the season.
While LeBron James and Rui Hachimura also remained out, star point guard Luka Doncic took matters into his own hands during the Lakers' explosive first quarter.
Doncic scored a staggering 21 points in the first 12 minutes of action, helping the Lakers secure a 46-29 lead, which they quickly pushed to a 20-plus point advantage early in the second quarter.
The Slovenian superstar knocked down three of his five 3-point attempts and shot 7-for-11 from the field. With this performance, he made Lakers history in three surprising ways.
According to StatMamba, Doncic is now the youngest point guard in Lakers history to score 20 or more points in a single quarter. He is also the fastest player in the organization's history to record 50-plus made 3-point attempts.
Additionally, according to StatMuse, Doncic is the first Laker to record 21-plus points, three-plus rebounds, three-plus assists, one-plus steal, and one-plus block in a single quarter.
Since being traded to the Lakers on Feb. 2, Luka Doncic has made a massive impact in just his second month with the franchise. Not only has he quickly become a fan favorite in the City of Angels, but his production has matched the significant haul the Lakers gave up to acquire him.
The Lakers have surged up the standings since the trade, and dating back to the matchup against the Boston Celtics over a week and a half ago, Doncic is averaging 31 points per game. In the month of March, he trails only Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in total points per game.
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This story was originally published March 19, 2025 at 10:09 PM.