JJ Redick Reacts to Luka Doncic's 53 Points vs. Trail Blazers

Guard Luka Doncic scored 53 points on Friday night, and the Los Angeles Lakers needed all of them to beat the Portland Trail Blazers 124-118 at Crypto.com Arena.

Head coach JJ Redick has watched plenty of big nights from his star this season, and even he sounded amazed by this one afterward.

The Lakers missed their first 15 three-point attempts and trailed by double digits late in the first half, so this did not look like a special night early.

Doncic beat the halftime buzzer with a 61-foot shot that banked in off the backboard to cut the deficit to 60-53, and the game turned from there.

Los Angeles outscored Portland 34-15 in the third quarter to take an 87-75 lead into the fourth, with Doncic scoring 20 points in that quarter alone.

He finished 17-of-33 from the field, 5-of-15 from three and 14-of-18 at the line with five rebounds and five assists, while guard Austin Reaves chipped in 25 points and center Walker Kessler added 16 points and 12 rebounds.

Forward Deni Avdija and guard Damian Lillard each scored 22 for Portland.

Redick's take on Doncic's shot-making after the game was shared by the Associated Press.

"Luka can do some things that maybe a handful (or) no one can do in basketball. When he shoots it from three-quarter court, you're surprised when it doesn't at least go in and out, hit the rim."

The bar is so high right now that a 53-point game with a shot from beyond half court barely surprises the people around him.

Redick has been asked about Doncic over and over during this stretch, and he also reacted after the 52-point game against Utah on Oct. 25.

Doncic is averaging 40.1 points per game through nine games, and he has scored at least 40 in each of his last four games.

The win was the fourth in a row for the Lakers, who moved to 8-2 and first place in the Western Conference, and it also paid Portland back for a 136-129 loss on Oct. 27.

The scary part for the rest of the league is that the Lakers did not shoot well and still won by six against a Portland team that came in with a strong start of its own.

The defense and the hustle in the third quarter gave Doncic room to take over, and Kessler, who recently talked about what the team still needs to improve after the 7-2 start, did his job on the glass.

The Lakers now head out on the road, with games at Detroit on Sunday, at Atlanta on Monday and at Milwaukee on Wednesday.

In my view, this road swing is the right test for this group, because the Lakers cannot lean on 50-point nights forever, and the supporting cast will need to hit more of the open shots Doncic creates.

Doncic has carried them so far, and Redick has been right to point out how special this run is, but the next step is winning games where the shots fall for everyone else too.