Luka Doncic, with the eyes of five defenders fixed on him in the paint, faked a lob pass. He threatened to wrap a pass around Cleveland center Thomas Bryant’s back. Instead, the Lakers superstar pulled up straight over the top of Bryant’s outstretched arm, dropping a fadeaway jumper softly through the net.
Doncic smiled slyly toward the Lakers bench as he back pedaled. He shrugged at himself.
Doncic brought back all his old tricks after serving a one-game suspension and continued his torrid March with 42 points, 12 assists and five rebounds in the Lakers’ 127-113 rout of the Cavaliers (47-29) on Tuesday at Crypto.com Arena.
Doncic, who was suspended for Monday’s game against the Washington Wizards because of technical foul accumulation, had his league-leading 16th 40-point game. The league’s leading scorer reached 15,000 points for his career, becoming the third-youngest player in NBA history to reach the mark.
LeBron James, who tops that list, added to it with 14 points and six assists. James became the youngest person to reach 15,000 points when he was 25 years and 79 days old. Now 41, the league’s new leader in regular-season and playoff wins was questionable to play in his second game in as many nights while managing left foot arthritis.
He didn’t waste any time easing into the game, chasing down Donovan Mitchell for a block on the opening possession. James had a thunderous one-handed dunk off a lob from Austin Reaves in transition with 7:42 remaining in the third quarter that put the Lakers up by 17 points. Reaves had 19 points as all five Lakers starters scored in double figures.
The Lakers (50-26) reached 50 wins in consecutive seasons for the first time since the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons. Before tipping off, they had already locked up a playoff spot when the Phoenix Suns lost to the Orlando Magic, giving the Lakers their second consecutive Pacific Division title.
Before this month, the Lakers, who’ve won 13 of their last 14 games, were fighting to hold off the Suns in the sixth position in the West. But they reasserted themselves as legitimate playoff contenders behind Doncic’s historic brilliance.
The Lakers went 15-2 in March, winning eight games against teams with winning records. Doncic scored 600 points, becoming just the second player in NBA history to reach the 600-point mark in March, joining Michael Jordan. He is just one of 10 players to score 600 points in a month.
Doncic’s step-back threes, mid-range floaters and driving layups powered the rise, but a rare dunk punctuated it. Doncic scored his final points of the night on a two-handed dunk in transition, methodically jumping off of both feet before barely clearing the top of the rim.
The Lakers bench erupted in cheers.
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