Luka Doncic looks back on his 51-point outing against the Chicago Bulls on Thursday.
Luka Doncic had his highest scoring outing as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday, dropping 51 points on the Chicago Bulls.
Luka went 17-31 from the field, 9-14 from three, and 8-9 from the free throw line.
He was consistent throughout the game, scoring 12 points in the first quarter, and another 12 in the second quarter.
In the third quarter, he added another 17 points, before closing with 10 points in the final frame.
His previous high with the Lakers was 49 points, which he achieved in the second game of the season against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
How Luka Got Going
After the game, Luka was asked when he knew he might be in for a big night.
"In the second quarter, I kind of felt it. Someone decided to talk to me. That woke me up,"
When asked who was talking to him, Luka browsed over the boxscore and said Bulls guard Matas Buzelis is the one who got him going.
"I was surprised. I was shocked. I didn't say anything, that's why I was surprised," said Luka.
Buzelis had a good first quarter with seven points, and a better second quarter with 10 points, but those were effectively negated by the scoring of Doncic.
Giving his account of what happened, Buzelis took ownership of the fact that trash talking Luka may have been a bad idea.
“I don't even know what to say, honestly… He started killing when I started talking to him," he said.
Buzelis finished the game with 22 points on 7-19 shooting, 4-11 from three, and 4-5 from the line. He was also a -25 for the game, which was the worst on his team.
Lakers Continue To Roll
With Thursday's victory over the Bulls, the Lakers have now won four straight, putting them third in the West.
They are grouped with the Houston Rockets, Denver Nuggets, and Minnesota Timberwolves as all four teams battle for positioning going into the playoffs. Though the Lakers are third, they are only a game up on the Timberwolves, who are sixth.
Going back even further, they have won seven of their last eight, with Luka continuing to play some of the best basketball of his career.
He's averaging 33.6 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 7.5 assists over the last eight games. He's also shooting 41% from three and 50% from the field.
The Lakers will need Luka to continue to dominate down the stretch if they want to secure home court in the first round of the playoffs.