Doncic Banks a Halftime Heave From Beyond Half Court, Then Drops 53 as Lakers Rally Past Blazers

Luka Doncic banked in a heave from the opposite free-throw circle at the halftime buzzer, then scored 53 points as the Los Angeles Lakers erased a 16-point deficit to beat the Portland Trail Blazers 124-118 in NBA Cup play on Friday night, the Associated Press reports. The heave cut Portland’s lead to 60-53 at the break, and Doncic then outscored the Blazers 20-15 by himself in the third quarter.

What happened at halftime?

The Lakers had barely made a shot all night. They missed their first 15 three-point attempts and all 12 of them in the opening quarter, SportsGrid reports, and trailed 29-20 after one. Doncic missed his first five threes, the Associated Press reports, and Portland’s lead reached 16 in the second quarter. Then the half ended with the toughest shot of the night: Doncic banked in a heave from the opposite free-throw circle at the buzzer, the Associated Press reports, measured at 61 feet, and shouted “and I GOT IT!” as it dropped, SportsGrid reports. SLAM called it a 62-foot three. The Lakers went into the break down seven despite shooting 4 for 23 from deep, and the one make that mattered was the one nobody would have drawn up.

How did the Lakers turn it around?

They came out of the locker room and stopped missing. The Lakers used a 20-8 run to move ahead 73-68, with Doncic scoring 11 points during that stretch, SportsGrid reports, and outscored Portland 34-15 in the third quarter to take an 87-75 lead into the fourth. The Associated Press puts the wider surge at a 32-11 run that carried the Lakers to a 16-point lead of their own early in the fourth. Portland roared back and repeatedly got within four points, but no closer, and Doncic sealed it with a jumper in the lane with 28 seconds to play, the Associated Press reports. Austin Reaves recovered from missing his first seven shots to finish with 25 points, and Walker Kessler added 16 points and 12 rebounds. The Lakers also created extra chances the hard way, forcing 24 turnovers and collecting 17 offensive rebounds, SportsGrid reports.

How historic is Doncic’s scoring run?

Historic enough that the comparisons now start with Wilt Chamberlain. Doncic has scored 361 points through his first nine games this season, the most since Chamberlain scored 472 through nine in 1962-63, SportsGrid reports, citing the Lakers. His 40.1 points per game ranks third in NBA history through a player’s first nine games of a season, behind only Chamberlain’s starts in 1962-63 (52.4) and 1961-62 (50.6). Friday was his 11th career 50-point game and his fourth with Los Angeles, the Associated Press reports, and he joined Elgin Baylor, Kobe Bryant and George Mikan as the only Lakers to score 40 points in four straight regular-season games. He also passed Mikan for the fifth-most 40-point games in Lakers history, after just 101 regular-season games with the team. Coach JJ Redick, asked about the surge, said simply: “For now … I don’t have any words.” Doncic has been turning defenders into viral clips since the preseason, and his 52-point night against Utah was only the warm-up for this one.

What did the loss cost Portland?

A little more than a game. Deni Avdija had 22 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds and Damian Lillard scored 22 for the Blazers, the Associated Press reports, who lost for only the second time this season in the finale of their four-game road trip. Portland fell to 0-1 in NBA Cup group play while the Lakers moved to 1-1 and avenged their 136-129 home loss to Portland on October 27. The Lakers improved to 8-2 with their fourth straight win, and the win was their first in this season’s NBA Cup. Doncic has already had a loud week off the court too: a courtside fan was ejected after throwing a ball back toward the referee in a game earlier this week, and the league rescinded a technical foul he picked up against Miami.

What happens next?

The Lakers go to Detroit on Sunday, the Associated Press reports, while Portland hosts San Antonio on Saturday. Doncic acknowledged feeling tired afterward, but his assessment of how he is holding up stayed simple. “Feeling great,” he said, SportsGrid reports, and when asked about sustaining the production every night he kept the focus on the result: “As long as we win, I’m good with whatever I do.”