Sports
Luka Doncic scores 42 as the Lakers beat the Heat 138-117 and Giannis calls him one of the best scorers ever
Luka Doncic had 42 points and 13 assists for his fourth 40-point game in five outings as the Lakers beat Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Heat.
Luka Doncic keeps piling up points. Now even his opponents are running out of words for it.
Doncic had 42 points with 13 assists and seven rebounds Monday night as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Miami Heat 138-117.
It was his fourth game with at least 40 points in his last five. He has scored at least 37 in five straight games.
A historic heater
Doncic is averaging 43.4 points over his last five games. He is shooting 53.2% from the field in that stretch with 44.7% from 3-point range.
He now leads the NBA at 38.8 points per game.
He had 24 points by halftime. It was his fifth straight game with at least 20 points in the first half. No Lakers player had done that since Kobe Bryant in 2007.
Doncic scored nine more in the first 4 1/2 minutes of the third quarter. That pushed the lead to 93-74. Miami never got close again.
Giannis is impressed
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 30 points with 12 rebounds and seven assists for Miami. After the game he praised the man who outscored him.
"Obviously, he's one of the best scorers to play this game, if not the best," Antetokounmpo said.
Asked if he meant right now, Antetokounmpo made it clear he was thinking bigger. "Not right now. Of all time," he said. "I feel like some people are scared to say that, but he's got to be up there."
The supporting cast
Austin Reaves scored 27 points. Walker Kessler had 15 points with 15 rebounds.
The Lakers piled up 39 assists. That is the most since JJ Redick became their coach.
Teammate Quentin Grimes said it feels like everything Doncic shoots is going in. He said he had never been on the court with a player that hot.
Doncic kept the focus on the team. "Obviously when we win, it feels way better," he said.
Heat stumble out West
Miami fell to 2-5 in Antetokounmpo's first season with the team. The loss opened a five-game West Coast trip.
Klay Thompson scored 19 points. Bam Adebayo added 16.
Heat president Pat Riley got a big ovation from the Lakers crowd when he was shown on the video board.
Up next
The Lakers (6-2) visit the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night. The Heat visit the LA Clippers the same night.
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