Luka Doncic scores season-high 51 points in Lakers win over Bulls

It wasn’t always pretty.And the defense left a lot to be desired.But in take-care-of-business victory, the Lakers’ 142-130 win over the Bulls on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena will be memorable for one reason: Luka Doncic’s first 50-point game with the Lakers. Doncic led the Lakers with 51 points on 17-of-31 shooting on Thursday night, scoring his 50th and 51st points at the free throw line with “M-V-P” being chanted throughout the Lakers’ home arena late in the fourth quarter. “It feels very special,” Doncic said.Thursday was the eighth 50-point game of Doncic’s career, and the first time he scored at least 50 points since scoring a career-high 73 points on Jan.26, 2024, while playing for the Mavericks.

“I just feel like it’s every game..with him scoring like that,” Deandre Ayton said.Austin Reaves added 30 points, seven assists and five rebounds during a night the Lakers’ offense was firing on all cylinders. The Lakers shot 55.6% from the field, including 47.2% on 3s (17 of 36). Ayton recorded a 23 point-10 rebound double-double to continue his strong run of play.LeBron James had 18 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and a pair of steals after returning from a three-game absence. Rui Hachimura also scored 15 points, with all of the Lakers starters scoring at least 15 points. “I like the way we played,” coach JJ Redick said.

The Lakers moved back up to third in the Western Conference standings with Thursday’s victory. They’re on a four-game winning streak, their longest run of consecutive wins since late November when they won a season-high seven games to close out the month. They have a 41-25 record. When Ayton grabbed an offensive rebound at the 1:09 mark in the second quarter that led to the Rui Hachimura free-throw line jumper to tie the game at 62 apiece.That started a 7-0 run the Lakers closed the first half with, flowing into a 5-0 run to start the third quarter to put the Lakers up 72-62. The Lakers led b...