Luka Dončić shows how unbeatable Lakers can be in rout of Heat

LOS ANGELES — Luka Dončić has had himself a day.

Dončić, over a 24-hour stretch, dropped a staggering 87 points in consecutive Los Angeles Lakers victories, the latest Monday, Nov. 2 in a 138-117 domination over the Miami Heat. In the process, not only did Dončić outshine Heat star Giannis Antetokounmpo, he’s proving that Los Angeles is close to unbeatable when he’s besieging opponents with buckets.

Case in point: entering the night, NBA teams were averaging 113.7 points per game; the Lakers, by the end of the third quarter, were already at 111. For reference, that was four points off from tying the most allowed by the Heat through three quarters in their history.

One night after he dropped 45 in a win over the Toronto Raptors, Dončić toasted the Heat to the tune of 42 points on 14-of-24 shooting, scooping 7 rebounds and dishing out 13 assists.

1 / 25

See the coolest sneakers of the NBA season

Signature shoes, rare colorways and player exclusives help NBA stars stand out this season. Take a look at some of the coolest sneakers being worn around the league.

A close up of the Li-Ning sneakers worn by Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors during their game against the Memphis Grizzlies at Chase Center on October 23, 2026 in San Francisco, California.

(Ezra Shaw, Getty Images)

Signature shoes, rare colorways and player exclusives help NBA stars stand out this season. Take a look at some of the coolest sneakers being worn around the league.

A close up of the Li-Ning sneakers worn by Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors during their game against the Memphis Grizzlies at Chase Center on October 23, 2026 in San Francisco, California.

(Ezra Shaw, Getty Images)

A close up of the Nike sneakers worn by Cameron Boozer of the Memphis Grizzlies during the first half of their game against the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center on October 23, 2026 in San Francisco, California.

(Ezra Shaw, Getty Images)

A detailed view of of the shoes worn by Jaylen Brown of the Philadelphia 76ers during the second quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Xfinity Mobile Arena on October 22, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

(Emilee Chinn, Getty Images)

A detailed view of shoes on guard Tyrese Maxey of the Philadelphia 76ers during the first quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Xfinity Mobile Arena on October 22, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

(Emilee Chinn, Getty Images)

A detailed view of LeBron James’ of the Philadelphia 76ers shoes during the first quarter of a game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Xfinity Mobile Arena on October 22, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

(Emilee Chinn, Getty Images)

A detailed view of the basketball shoes of Trae Young of the Washington Wizards against the Milwaukee Bucks during the second half at Capital One Arena on October 21, 2026 in Washington, DC.

(Patrick Smith, Getty Images)

The shoes of Yang Hansen of the Portland Trail Blazers are seen during the second half against the Phoenix Suns at Moda Center on October 21, 2026 in Portland, Oregon.

(Steph Chambers, Getty Images)

The shoes of Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns are seen during the second half against the Portland Trail Blazers at Moda Center on October 21, 2026 in Portland, Oregon.

(Steph Chambers, Getty Images)

The shoes of Ja Morant of the Portland Trail Blazers are seen during the first half against the Phoenix Suns at Moda Center on October 21, 2026 in Portland, Oregon.

(Steph Chambers, Getty Images)

Detail of the Skechers sneakers worn by Julius Randle of the Brooklyn Nets during the first half against the Charlotte Hornets at Barclays Center on October 21, 2026 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City.

(Sarah Stier, Getty Images)

A detailed view of the shoes of Keaton Wagler of the Los Angeles Clippers before the game against the Sacramento Kings at Intuit Dome on October 21, 2026 in Inglewood, California.

(Luke Hales, Getty Images)

A detailed view of Kyrie Irving of the Dallas Mavericks shoes prior to the game against the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center on October 21, 2026 in Houston, Texas.

(Kenneth Richmond, Getty Images)

A detailed view of Cooper Flagg of the Dallas Mavericks shoes prior to the game against the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center on October 21, 2026 in Houston, Texas.

(Kenneth Richmond, Getty Images)

A detailed view of LeBron James of the Philadelphia 76ers shoes during the third quarter of the game against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on October 20, 2026 in New York City.

(Sarah Stier, Getty Images)

Shoes worn by Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics against the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena on October 20, 2026 in Detroit, Michigan.

(Gregory Shamus, Getty Images)

A detailed view of Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks shoes during the third quarter of the game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Madison Square Garden on October 20, 2026 in New York City.

(Sarah Stier, Getty Images)

A close up of the sneakers worn by Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors during the second half of their preseason game against the Portland Trail Blazers at Chase Center on October 16, 2026 in San Francisco, California.

(Ezra Shaw, Getty Images)

A close up of the sneakers worn by Yaxel Lendeborg of the Golden State Warriors during the first half of their preseason game against the Portland Trail Blazers at Chase Center on October 16, 2026 in San Francisco, California.

(Ezra Shaw, Getty Images)

A close up of the sneakers worn by Ja Morant of the Portland Trail Blazers during the first half of their preseason game against the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center on October 16, 2026 in San Francisco, California.

(Ezra Shaw, Getty Images)

A detailed view of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder shoes during the game against the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center on October 15, 2026 in Houston, Texas.

(Kenneth Richmond, Getty Images)

A detailed view of the KD19 shoes worn by Quadir Copeland of the Houston Rockets during the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Toyota Center on October 15, 2026 in Houston, Texas.

(Kenneth Richmond, Getty Images)

A detailed view of the shoes of Luka Doncic of the Los Angeles Lakers during the first quarter against the Sacramento Kings in a preseason game at Crypto.com Arena on October 08, 2026 in Los Angeles, California.

(Luke Hales, Getty Images)

Cade Cunningham of the Detroit Pistons shoes during a pre season game against the Phoenix Suns at Little Caesars Arena on October 05, 2026 in Detroit, Michigan.

(Gregory Shamus, Getty Images)

A view of the shoes worn by Donovan Mitchell of the Cleveland Cavaliers during Cleveland Cavaliers Media Day at Rocket Arena on September 28, 2026 in Cleveland, Ohio.

(Nick Cammett, Getty Images)

A detailed view of Kevin Durant of the Houston Rockets shoes as he poses for a photo during the Houston Rockets Media Day at Hilton Americas-Houston on September 22, 2026 in Houston, Texas.

(Kenneth Richmond, Getty Images)

It didn’t matter who Miami sent at Dončić. Versatile defensive wing Andrew Wiggins started the game on Dončić, but Pelle Larsson and Davion Mitchell each got their turn. Later in the third, after Dončić was creeping toward 40 points, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra dug deep in the bench and deployed defensive-specialist guard Dru Smith. The Heat threw double-teams at Dončić, but that didn’t matter, either.

Dončić zipped and lofted passes to open teammates who had been left neglected because of those double-teams. By the end of the third, he had already posted double-digit assists.

This is the bewildering thing about defending Dončić: even when you try to rush him, he stubbornly plays at his pace, parries away the additional defensive attention – almost teasing blitzing defenders and daring them to get close – only to pinpoint passes right into his teammates’ shooting pockets.

This was an efficient Dončić. He did not need to strafe the rim with shots. He was under control. He was never flustered. And, at least on Monday night, he made his teammates better.

Antetokounmpo, by comparison, finished with 30 points on 10-of-17 shooting, adding 12 rebounds and 7 assists.

The Lakers improved to 6-2 and Dončić is now averaging 38.3 points per game, which is a full 4 points greater than the next closest player. They wield one of the top 3 offenses in the NBA. And as injuries have plagued some of the top teams in the West, like the Oklahoma City Thunder, there could be an opening for the Lakers to blossom into a legitimate title threat with Dončić as the unquestioned anchor of the team.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Luka Dončić shows how unbeatable Lakers can be in rout of Heat

Source link

Spread the love