Watch Luka And The Mavs Torch The Lakers For 51 3rd-Quarter Points In A Mesmerizing Display Of Ball Movement And 3-Point Bombs
It doesn't get much better than this. Whatever defensive tactics Lakers coach Darvin Ham deployed to keep Luka Doncic and the Mavericks in check to build a 54-43 halftime lead went completely out the window thereafter.
Luka is just a straight-up freak show on the hardwood. He gives zero fucks. Throws no-look passes like he's dressed as Santa and is handing them gift-wrapped into the shooting pockets of his Dallas teammates. He was driving, dishing and demoralizing the Anthony Davis-less Lakers. Sorry I got a little carried away with alliteration there. More accurately, Luka was often catching the ball, posting up, beating LA's double teams and always making the right decision.
Credit to the Mavs for knocking down so many of the clean looks Luka helped create, too.
I get a little bummed out sometimes thinking about how Dallas will probably be lucky to win a postseason series after just going to the Conference Finals. Playoff Luka can only carry you so far with zero other All-Star-caliber players unless you want to count Christian Wood (?!). But this is 51-point, single-quarter eruption shows you what can happen when so many defenders get sucked into Luka's orbit and a competent NBA supporting cast simply does its collective job at a high level.
The Western Conference is rife with chaos and parity. Luka Doncic continues to show how much he can elevate a pretty pedestrian squad. Let's hope Dallas can figure out a way to get a second superstar in the fold one of these days. Until then, it'll be compelling to watch just how high Luka can lift them.
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