Luka Doncic. Image via: NBAE via Getty Images
His team led 38-15 after one quarter of the NBA Cup game. Golden State tied the score at 53 by halftime, outscored Los Angeles 59-42 after the break and won 112-95. Doncic finished with 37 points, seven rebounds and five assists on 12-for-27 shooting. Doncic cooled off in the second quarter, going 1-for-5, and Golden State won the period 38-15 to tie it. Los Angeles had been up 25 at one point. After halftime, Stephen Curry and Brandin Podziemski combined for 31 points as the Warriors took the third and fourth quarters 59-42.
Luka Doncic had heard “Luka s**ks” chants for most of Friday night at Chase Center, and early in the game he finally answered. After hitting a three, the Los Angeles Lakers guard turned toward a Warriors fan and barked, “Yeah, f***, b***h! What? It did not hold.
Luka Doncic’s reply came in the middle of a first quarter in which he scored more than 20 points and made five threes. The Lakers became the first team since the shot clock arrived in 1954-55 to lead by 23 or more after one quarter and not hold a lead at the break. Golden State’s 17-point win is also the biggest by a team that trailed by 25 or more in the play-by-play era.
After one of them, he turned to a Warriors fan and let the words fly. The collapse made the record books.
“25, you know, it’s the new 12,” the Warriors coach said, pointing to pace and three-point shooting as the cause of the wild swings. “You don’t become a great team in six games,” the Lakers coach said. Doncic said he did not know what it would take, only that the roster has several new players and everyone has to play better. “Them boys had my back today,” he said. Curry called the rookie’s stretch trial by fire and said “he’s built for it.”
Steve Kerr did not sound shocked. JJ Redick did not dodge the loss either. Lendeborg took three shots and scored six points on an off night.