DENVER — Lakers coach JJ Redick knew when to identify when Luka Doncic, who was playing in his fourth game with his new team against the Denver Nuggets, was starting to feel like himself again.
After being sidelined for 6 ½ weeks because of a strained left calf, a period that included a stunning trade to the Lakers on Feb. 2, Doncic hadn’t played like his five-time All-Star self in his brief time with the Lakers. Statistically or attitude-wise – at least overtly.
That changed in the Lakers’ 123-100 win over the Nuggets on Saturday, with Doncic having his best performance as a Laker in the team’s first victory at Ball Arena since April 2022.
“I told him [Saturday] morning that I want at least one blackout episode where he’s screaming indiscriminately at no one in particular because he’s excited,” Redick said pregame. “That means he’s back. That’s the Luka I know, the killer.”
Doncic appeared to have multiple of those “blackout” episodes en route to leading the Lakers (34-21) with 32 points (10-of-22 shooting, four of nine on 3-pointers), 10 rebounds, seven assists, four steals and a blocked shot.
“He was super dialed in,” LeBron James said of Doncic. “He was very locked in on what he wanted to do out here on the floor tonight. He was just dialed in on what he wanted to do and how he wanted to execute his game plan individually.”
The most notable moment came late in the first half after Doncic’s third 3-pointer of the game, with the 25-year-old Slovenian yelling towards the Lakers’ bench after knocking down a stepback 3 that put the Lakers up 63-52 and helped give the Lakers a nine-point lead going into halftime.
“You can see it, me smiling on the court, having fun,” Doncic said. “JJ told me, you gotta have one, that blackout moment you have. So I think I have one. Just felt like me a little bit so I was happy.”
Doncic appeared to have a similar moment when he knocked down his fourth 3-pointer, a stepback in transition as part of a 10-0 run to put the Lakers up 73-62 early in the third, with Doncic seemingly talking trash to a fan courtside afterward as the Nuggets called timeout.
The Nuggets opened the third by scoring eight unanswered points to cut their deficit to one (63-62) before the Lakers scored 10 straight points capped off by the Doncic 3 to put them up by double digits again.
“He controlled the game when he had the ball in his hands, made some great decisions,” Redick said of Doncic. “I thought the way he handled the shock with Jokic up in pick and roll early, getting us good looks, getting Jaxson [Hayes] two layups. They had to go to other options and then on the other end it was a top-notch defensive game from him.”
Redick added: “That was all our guys. They battled and they competed and they executed at a really high level.”
Doncic essentially sealed the victory for the Lakers when he scored against Michael Porter Jr. with a circus shot in an isolation situation, putting the Lakers up 117-97 with just over four minutes left.
“Great confidence,” Doncic said of Saturday. “I [can’t] remember when was the last time I won here. It’s very tough to play here against that team. Just to win like that, it’s an amazing win for us and gives me a lot of confidence moving forward.”
The Lakers had four players score in double figures.
James finished with 25 points (11-of-19 shooting), nine rebounds and five assists.
Austin Reaves added 23 points, seven assists and four rebounds while Rui Hachimura recorded 21 points (7-of-12 shooting, four of nine on 3s) and four assists, while also being the primary defender against three-time MVP Nikola Jokic.
The Lakers limited Jokic, who finished with a triple-double, to just 12 points on 2-of-7 shooting – the second-fewest points he’s scored in a game this season.
“Just [don’t] give him an easy touch,” Hachimura said of the defensive gameplan against Jokic. “Once he gets in halfcourt, I gotta be on him literally the whole time. So it was a great gameplan and as a team, we did a good job executing our defense plan.”
Jokic’s field goal attempts were tied for the fewest he’s had in a game this season.
“He leads the NBA in touches, he’s gonna touch the ball,” Redick said. “We tried to limit his touches as much as possible. Rui was outstanding. He was a warrior. And all the guys that had primary turns on him, LeBron at one point, [Jarred Vanderbilt] for sure setting the tone with his physicality, [Dorian Finney-Smith] as well.
“And then anytime a small got switched on again, we just stuck with what we were trying to do and had to live with some things. But that’s what we were willing to live with.”
Jokic also had 13 rebounds and 10 assists, with the Lakers consistently sending double teams his way in the post, contributing to Jokic finishing with six of the Nuggets’ 22 turnovers that led to 39 Lakers’ points.
The Lakers scored 33 fastbreak points, taking advantage of the Nuggets’ ineffective ball security and poor transition defense.
The Nuggets (37-20) had their nine-game winning streak come to an end with Saturday’s loss.
Denver beat the Lakers in 13 of the previous 14 matchups entering Saturday, including the two playoff series. The Nuggets beat the Lakers eight consecutive times at Ball Arena before Saturday.
The Nuggets were led by Aaron Gordon’s 24 points, five rebounds and four assists on Saturday. Jamal Murray added 19 points and six assists but also had five turnovers.
“That was a great feeling,” Hachimura said. Kind of like a barrier, we [broke] through it. Of course, we want to celebrate this, but we got to switch to the next game. We want to build from here.”