Luka Dončić went absolutely off for 53 points on Friday night, leading the Lakers to a wild 124-118 comeback win against the Portland Trail Blazers in the NBA Cup Group Stage. This wasn’t just any win, either: it was pure revenge on a Blazers team that had handed them one of their two losses this season, and it secured Los Angeles sole position atop the Western Conference.
Dončić Hit the “Change Everything” Button From Deep
You can’t even talk about this game without starting and ending with Luka. The guy was simply on another planet. The crowd was roaring MVP chants after he hit a free throw in the third quarter that pushed him to 40 points in the game, a full 20 of those coming in that pivotal frame alone. He finished with a monstrous 53 points on 17-of-33 shooting from the field, which isn’t just a big night, it put him past Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the 10th-most 50-point games in NBA history. Seriously, the dude is a legend in the making.
But the real, honest-to-goodness spark that changed everything? Dončić’s ridiculous shot from the opposite three-point line that drained as the first half expired. Before that bomb, the Lakers were ice cold from deep, hitting just three of their 23 three-point attempts. After that heave? It was like a switch flipped. They suddenly started cooking, making eight of their last 14 deep shots en route to that much-needed win. Luka himself knew it, saying postgame, “That shot changes the whole energy. In the team and in the gym. That was an important shot to make. So that’s why I decided to make it.”
Resilience and Momentum Are Building
That half-court dagger set the stage for an incredible third quarter where the Lakers came roaring back from a 16-point deficit with an insane 34-15 run. That burst didn’t just put them in front at 87-75, it felt like it gave them total control for the rest of the game. Head coach JJ Redick was quick to credit the defense and the shift in momentum. “Anytime you start a half down, you want to get to momentum early,” Redick said. “We were playing from behind the first half, so I thought it was really important to get off to a good start, and we did that. … for the most part, it felt like we had control of the rest of the game, and a lot of that had to do with how we defended in the third quarter.”
Redick has been preaching patience and a steady incline all season, and a comeback win like this on an NBA Cup night, securing the top spot in the Western Conference, is a huge measure of their resilience. And the crazy thing? Redick thinks they’re still building. “I think we’re already a really together group,” he added. “You don’t become a resilient team in 10 games, five games, 20 games. It takes a full season to build that resiliency. … But, the fact that this is a very together group and we’ve already shown a level of resiliency, it’s excit[ing].” If this is “still building,” the rest of the league needs to brace for impact. The Lakers are alone at the top of the West for a reason, and they’re just getting warmed up.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Silver Screen and Roll.
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