LOS Angeles – The tone of Luka Doncic’s first LUKA game in a Lakers jersey was set early Monday evening against Utah Jazz.
On the first possession of the Lakers, the playmaker of the star Lebron James entered the painting while the defense of Utah was concentrated on Doncic which came out of a pindown screen taking place by Austin Reaves, helping to open An opportunity for James to launch an alley at Jaxson Hayes for the first points of the game.
Less than 30 seconds later, after James pushed the ball to the field in transition and passed the ball to Doncic above the break, Doncic led into the painting and helped Hayes to his second allée de la nuit.
The pieces were emblematic of the way in which the Lakers occurred in the beginnings of Doncic, dominating jazz, 132-113, for their sixth consecutive victory, tied for their longest sequence of victories of the season.
Doncic has obtained several standing ovations from a crowd bearing thousands of gold t-shirts featuring its name and jersey n ° 77. The Slovenian superstar scored 11 of its 14 points while the Lakers striated at a 25 points advance at halftime, and he sat for good with 3:07 to play in the third quarter with the far ahead.
The first basket of Doncic was a 3 -point pointer in the first minutes of its second blow. Dononic finished with five rebounds and four assists-no prettier than a three-quarter strike in James for a lay-up at the end of the first half.
The offensive is easy for the Lakers (32-19), which have won 12 of their last 14 games dating from January 15.
Dononic, James and Reaves have taken turns take advantage and the discrepancies they have created, leading to an effective offense for themselves and their teammates.
James paved the way with 24 points (10 out of 17 shots), eight assists and seven rebounds.
Reaves, after having marked a 45 -point career summit in the home victory on Saturday against the Indiana Pacers, was effective, marking 22 points on only 10 shots (60%) to go with nine rebounds and four assists.
Doncic looked rusty sometimes (shooting 5-in-14, 1 for 7 in the range of 3 points) in his 24 minutes-his first match since he suffered a left calf tense on December 25 while he Played for the Dallas Mavericks, who shocked the sports world by exchanging it in Lakers on February 1.
After a full week to settle down and to return to full power, Donic joined James, Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura and Jaxson Hayes as entrances. While his legs were not yet completely there after seven weeks of the game, his game creation immediately spread with his new teammates.
“It’s special, it’s really,” said Lakers coach JJ Redick, at halftime, with his team leading jazz, 72-47. “He has such a good idea of the game. He facilitates everyone on the ground. »»
He was serenade with “Luka!” Luka! Sing at the first dead ball, and several times later. This crowd included Dirk Nowitzki, who was overwhelmed with Doncic for a season in Dallas and was his mentor.
Dononic played the first 6:56 am before consulting James – probably a coincidence due to the restriction of the Donconic report while it comes back at full power. Lakers should have one of their superstars on the ground to almost every time as Donci is aware.
Dononic returned with about eight minutes to play in the first half, and he helped the Lakers en route towards a large advance with several key parts.
Everyone received a Doncic T-shirt to mark the opportunity, including James, who warmed before the match in the Gold No. 77 shirt.
Donic, who watched three consecutive wins of their bench’s lakers since his arrival in Los Angeles a week ago, was followed by dozens of cameras while heating himself up for about 10 minutes before the match. The Lakers Arena played the Serbian music which he favored for pre-match training and presented it last before the match, giving it the place normally reserved for James, which led to another Standing ovation.
The Lakers offensive continued to buzz all night because they fired 54.3% of the land (50 for 92) and finished with 28 assists.
Their total goals on the ground were tied at the top of season 51 they made during a defeat in overtime on the Hawks of Atlanta on December 6.
And when the Trio of Doncic, James and Reaves did not create for themselves, they made the lives of others easier.
Seven Lakers scored two figures: Rui Hachimura scored 21 points out of 14 shots to go with six rebounds and two interceptions. Hayes finished with 12 points.
Jordan Goodwin (17 points, eight rebounds, two interceptions), which signed a two -way contract with Lakers last week, and Gabe Vincent (11 points, four assists) combined for 28 points on the bench.
The Lakers scored at least 28 points in each quarter – including 37 in the first, 35 in second and 32 in fourth.
The jazz were led by the 17 points of John Collins and 11 rebounds.
More to come to this story.
Originally published:
California Daily Newspapers
