Bulls trash talk fuels Luka Dončić’s first 51-point game with Lakers
LOS ANGELES — The Lakers, for the first time in what’s felt like months, could not get Luka Dončić a bucket.
Coming out of a late fourth-quarter timeout, they bought Dončić the ball on the low left put up, however he bought stopped on the rim. The subsequent contact, the Chicago Bulls despatched a triple-team, surrounding him and forcing the cross.
“One more?” JJ Redick requested Dončić as he grabbed his shorts at his knees. Dončić agreed and stayed within the game.
The subsequent possession after one other double-team compelled the ball out of his palms, Dončić appeared over to the Lakers’ bench in give up. His substitute, Jake LaRavia, walked in direction of the scorer’s desk. But with one ultimate probability, Dončić drove on the Chicago protection, forcing Rob Dillingham right into a foul and incomes himself two free throws.
In lots of methods, these have been the toughest factors Luka Dončić scored all evening — his nemesis for the evening already on the Bulls’ bench having been soundly overwhelmed by the NBA’s main scorer.
The two free throws have been the ultimate tallies on Dončić’s 51-point game that led the Lakers to a 142-130 victory in opposition to the over-matched Bulls. In two video games in opposition to Chicago this season, Dončić has scored 97 complete factors.
It was Dončić’s highest scoring game as a Laker and his first with at the very least 50. He’s scored at the very least 50 seven instances in his profession.
Dončić scored 12 factors within the first quarter, however missed a reverse layup late. After the play, I stayed on the opposing baseline and kicked into the air out of frustration.
“Somebody started talking to me, so that woke me up,” Dončić stated.
Asked who, Dončić sarcastically appeared on the field rating on the podium.
“Matas,” he stated was a pause. “Buzelis.”
Dončić’s first bucket within the second quarter was a jumper over Buzelis, scoring 12 factors within the ultimate six minutes of the half, trash-talking Buzelis whether or not he was guarding him, on the bench or ready to test again into the game. The remedy continued nicely into the fourth-quarter when Dončić bumped Buzelis all the best way out of bounds earlier than scoring on a simple layup.
“Probably not to talk to him,” Buzelis stated when requested what he took away from the evening.
Both Buzelis and Dončić claimed the opposite began the trash-talking, officers stepping in between the gamers at one level within the first half. But historical past is advised by the victors.
“I was surprised. I didn’t say anything,” Dončić stated. “… Yeah. Not very nice. I was surprised.”
“I don’t even know what to say, honestly. He started killing obviously when I started talking to him,” Buzelis stated. “I just… I don’t back down from anybody. No matter who you are. And I took on the challenge and didn’t execute.”
Dončić completed with 9 made threes, tying a profession excessive. After a sluggish begin taking pictures from deep to start out the season, he is made 41 p.c on 10.5 makes an attempt from three in his final 29 video games — a stretch courting again to Jan. 4.
“He’s been high-volume, high-efficiency for about two and a half months now,” Redick stated of the taking pictures. “It’s so important. It just sets up the rest of his game when he’s making threes. And it obviously gives us life.”
Redick has typically talked about Dončić’s aggressive hearth and his means to focus it on the proper issues. Thursday, that meant much more than scoring. In addition to the 51, he completed with 10 rebounds, 9 assists, three steals, a blocked shot and only one turnover.
It’s the second time in his profession he is scored 50, had at the very least 9 assists and one or fewer turnovers. Only Michael Jordan has executed the identical a number of instances.
Like Jordan, Dončić is all the time searching for a goal to direct his aggressive rage, whether or not or not it’s a courtside fan, an official or, on this case, a 21-year-old wing.
“It’s a unique trait. It’s not just the fact that he responds to a rough play or trash talking. It’s that he can channel it, and he can channel it while still doing all the other things that needs to be done. And that’s obviously reflective in his defensive rebounding, his assists, his steals — again, another game where he gets the high assists number with low turnovers,” Redick stated. “He’s playing as well as anybody in the NBA right now. I think that’s, you know, it’s probably not being talked about enough — so I’m going to talk about it.”
Why not? Redick is aware of simply how a lot Dončić likes to answer talk. It’s one of many issues that makes him particular.
“Maybe that’s what made me a little bit good at basketball,” Dončić stated with a smile.
— TheAthletic‘s Law Murray contributed to this story
