BY: CALVIN JED SERRANO — SPORTS ON AIR — CORRESPONDENT
DENVER – In his best game yet as a Laker, Luka Doncic poured 32 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists and Los Angeles stormed the Ball Arena with a 123-100 victory on Saturday.
The impressive road victory, which saw the purple-and-gold hit 50 percent from the field (43-of-86) and 39 percent from three (16-of-41), snapped the Nuggets’ nine-game winning streak.
Not to be outdone, LeBron James matched Luka’s effort with a near triple-double, finsihing with 25 points, 9 boards and 5 dimes. Rui Hachimura added 21 markers and 4 assists while Austin Reaves connected on 4-of-7 from three-point distance to finish with 23.
“He was super dialed in. He was very locked in on what he wanted to do on the floor tonight,” an impressed James said of Luka, who the Lakers acquired for Anthony Davis and Max Christie days before the season’s trading deadline.
And it looks like Doncic was having fun, too.
“You can see it, me smiling on the court,” the former Dallas Maverick told reporters after the game.
Obviously, the Nuggets didn’t have much to be merry-making for. They shot just 40 percent from the field (34-of-85) and was held to just 13 points in the final 12 minutes where the Lakers pulled away.
Nikola Jokic had a triple-double of 12 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists which fell for naught. Aaron Gordon finished with 24 points and 6 rebouns while Jamal Murray had 19 and 6 assists and the Nuggets fell to 37-20 for third place in the Western Conference..
The Lakers will face the Dallas Mavericks at home on Monday while the Nuggets will head on the road versus Indiana also on Monday to start a four-game road trip.
