Luka Doncic and his incredible start to the season continued Wednesday night, with the Lakers superstar dropping 40 points in a 116-103 victory over the Sacramento Kings.
Doncic finished with 40 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, helping Los Angeles improve to 7-2 while joining Kobe Bryant and Elgin Baylor as the only Lakers players to score at least 35 points in six consecutive games.
The Slovenian superstar has now scored 52, 41, 37, 45, 42 and 40 points across his last six appearances.
He’s also become the first player in NBA history to record six straight games with at least 35 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 made three-pointers, according to ESPN.
Even Doncic admitted this could be one of the best stretches of his career.
“Maybe,” Doncic said when asked if he’d ever played better. “I don’t know. I’ve had some good stretches in my career. Obviously, this could be one of the highest ones. But still some work to do.”
Lakers head coach JJ Redick compared Doncic’s current form to his remarkable run last March, when he averaged 37.5 points across 16 games.
“He closed out Houston for the second win in three nights,” Redick said. “Then we went to Miami, got in at 4 a.m. and he had 60 [points]. That stretch was pretty magical.”
Against Sacramento, Doncic took over in the second quarter, scoring 11 unanswered points during an 11-2 Lakers run and finishing the first half with 23.
It marked his sixth consecutive game scoring at least 20 first-half points.
“He comes down [in the second quarter] and makes three shots in a row that there’s only five guys in the NBA can make,” Redick said. “All of a sudden a tie ballgame is a nine- or 10-point lead. The team feeds off that.”
The Lakers eventually stretched their advantage to 18 points before securing their seventh victory of the season.
Center Walker Kessler summed up what it’s been like playing alongside Doncic during his historic run.
“You can call it a wave, you can call it a tsunami, you can call it whatever you want,” Kessler said. “He’s scoring the ball. If you want to call it a wave, we’re surfing the wave a little bit.”
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