Luka Doncic Drops 27 Points in Lakers’ Stunning Smash of Hawks—What’s Behind His Electrifying Performance?

When the Los Angeles Lakers stepped onto the court against the Atlanta Hawks on that Tuesday night, all eyes were glued on Luka Doncic and LeBron James—both tagged as questionable starters. Luka was battling left groin soreness, and LeBron had his own hurdles with left foot joint arthritis and right sciatica. To add fuel to the fire, the Lakers were notorious in the league charts for their lackluster three-point shooting and porous defense. But then, in a twist that stunned many, both stars took the floor, and the Lakers unleashed a barrage of three-pointers, locking down defensively and constructing a commanding 32-point cushion by the third quarter, cruising to a 141-116 triumph at Crypto.com Arena. It was a showcase of grit, resilience, and sheer will, as evidenced by Luka’s 27 points and LeBron flirting with a triple-double. Their performances were a vivid reminder: no matter the odds or the aches, true champions find a way. LEARN MORE

Luka Doncic and LeBron James were listed as questionable for the Lakers’ back-to-back game Tuesday night against the Atlanta Hawks. Doncic because of left groin soreness, James because of left foot joint arthritis and right sciatica.

Also, checking the stat sheet before the game, the Lakers were listed as one of the worst three-point shooting teams and one of the worst defensive shooting percentage teams in the league.

Well, Luka played and LeBron played and the Lakers shot lights-out from three-point range and were solid across the board on defense while building a 32-point lead in the third quarter and rolling over the Hawks 141-116 at Crypto.com Arena.

“We didn’t expect him (James) to be able to play. I mean, that’s just the nature of a 41-year-old body who plays heavy minutes. And he just said, “I’m going to try. I’m going to try to do everything I can, do my normal routine if I’m able to go.’ And same thing with Luka,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “So, both those guys I thought just completely led the group tonight and it was evident 22 assists between them. Obviously they made some shots too, but I just thought they did a great job of leading the group.”

Doncic felt soreness in his groin when the Lakers played at Sacramento on Monday night and was unsure about playing Tuesday. But he played and delivered 27 points, 12 assists and five rebounds.

“For me, I want to play,” Doncic said. “So, obviously I wasn’t feeling 100%, but in my head, I always want to play.”

After playing 33 minutes and 17 seconds, Doncic was asked how he was feeling physically.

“It’s a little bit worse than yesterday,” he said. But I’ll be fine.”

James didn’t play in the second game of a back-to-back game last week at New Orleans and San Antonio and said he will be listed as TBD, to be determined, in such scenarios. But James played against the Hawks and nearly produced a triple-double with 31 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds.

James described what went into his day that led him to playing in his first back-to-back game of the season.

“Woke up, got in the cold tub. I got in the cold tub in the hyperbaric chamber,” he said. “After the hyperbaric chamber, I took a nap, then I played PGA EA golf for a little bit, as I [wore compression boots] for 45 minutes, and I took a shower, got dressed and headed here.

“And once I got here, I did my normal game day routine — activation, treatment, rehabbing, stretching, lifting, mentally, doing everything while I watched TPG on the TV.

“And then me and (my trainer) Mike (Mancias) looked at each other, and he looked at me, asking me, ‘What you thinking? I said , ‘I think I feel pretty good.’ And then there’s a pregame meal in between there.”

Coming into the game, opponents were shooting 48.8% from the field and 37.4% from three against the Lakers, ranking them 28th and 26th, respectively, in the NBA.

The Hawks began the game ranked fourth in three-point shooting, making 37.4%, and they were ranked eighth in field-goal percentage, making 43.6%.

All of the above made for a bad recipe for the Lakers entering the game.

But when the game started, none of that mattered to the Lakers, who held the Hawks to 45% shooting and 28.3% from three-point range.

The Lakers shot 55.9% (19 for 34) from three-point range.

The Lakers’ big lead was sliced to 11 points in the fourth.

But back-to-back three-pointers by James and Marcus Smart, both off passes from Doncic, and a Doncic basket gave them a 19-point lead, and they never looked back.

The Lakers scored 81 points in the first half, a season-high for points in a half, a half in which they opened a 23-point lead and had the Hawks reeling from the beginning.

“We shared the ball great,” Doncic said. “We knocked down shots, so it was very fun out there.”

Rui Hachimura had missed the previous seven games with a right calf strain but was back in action against the Hawks. He had seven points and two rebounds in 18 minutes.

ETC: The Lakers signed guard Kobe Bufkin to a 10-day contract Tuesday. The 6-foot-5 Bufkin played in seven games for the South Bay Lakers, the Lakers’ G League team, where he averaged 28.7 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.0 assists over seven games. He has appeared in 27 career NBA games over two seasons with the Hawks. “You know, during the stretch, we’ll have opportunities during this 10-day,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said…. Backup center Jaxson Hayes didn’t play against the Hawks because of left hamstring soreness. Redick said Hayes got some “imaging” Tuesday on his injury and that the Lakers will have “more information” going forward.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.