The Washington Wizards likely would've preferred for Luka Dončić to sit out Friday's game to give his sore left ankle a rest.
Instead, the Los Angeles Lakers' star played against the Wizards after being listed as questionable earlier in the day on the NBA's injury report due to left ankle soreness. And he was explosive from the game's opening tip ofa 142-111 win.
Dončić scored 11 of the Lakers' first 20 points and assisted on two Deandre Ayton baskets on his way to finishing the first quarter with 17 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists as the Lakers scored 41 points in the opening 12 minutes.
By halftime, he already had a triple-double with 26 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists as the Lakers went to the locker room with a 77-48 lead. Oh, and he only played 19 minutes in the first half.
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Demonstrating that it was simply his night, Dončić posed after making a lob pass to Jaxson Hayes (before Hayes even finished the dunk) and banked in a 3-pointer for the Lakers' final score of the second quarter. Lakers coach JJ Redick wasn't too impressed by the bank shot during his halftime interview, however.
"Sometimes, he gets bored. So it did not surprise me,"Redick saidon the Spectrum SportsNet broadcast. "He did not call it, though."
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Dončić insisted after the game that he intended to bank the shot in, however.
He hrottled down in the second half, sitting out the entire fourth quarter with the Lakers holding a big lead. Dončić finished with 37 points, 11 rebounds, 13 assists and 3 steals. The NBA's leading scorer has tallied 30 points or more in seven of his past 10 games.
By the end of the game, it was Bronny James who entertained the fans at Capital One Arena with a breakway dunk from a steal by Jake LaRivia.
Prior to that, LeBron James gave the fans a highlight with a reverse dunk on a lob pass from Marcus Smart.
The elder James scored 20 points, while Bronny tallied four. Ayton added 28 points (his second-highest total of the season) with 13 rebounds, while Rui Hachimura provided 11 points off the bench.
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The Lakers have won of five of their past seven games and improved to 29-18 as they wrestle with the Phoenix Suns forthe No. 6 spot in the Western Conference. Los Angeles continues its eight-game road trip with a Sunday primetime matchup against the New York Knicks.
For the Wizards (12-35), Malaki Branham scored a team-high 17 points. Alex Sarr followed with 16 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists, while Kyshawn George and Bub Carrington each scored 13 points. Washington next hosts the equally struggling Sacramento Kings (12-37) on Sunday.
