 | | More Luka Magic | | by Mike Trudell | | | Using the eye test or statistics, one thing has been clear throughout the 2025-26 season: Luka Dončić has been terrific for the Purple and Gold, leading the NBA in scoring while consistently leading his team to wins. | | | A third Western Conference Player of the Week award this season – the 18th of his career – crystalized his most recent stretch of dominance in LA’s 3-0 week featuring wins over Minnesota, Chicago and Denver, when he averaged a robust 37.3 points, 11.0 assists, 10.7 boards, 2.0 steals and 1.7 blocks.
But, as he continues to make a very strong case for All-NBA First Team, and climb up the MVP rankings as the Lakers climb up the standings to their current spot at No. 3, he certainly didn’t stop there.
Instead, he ramped things up to another level in leading the Lakers to an impressive pair of victories at Houston on Monday and Wednesday, giving No. 3 seed LA (44-25) a 2.5-game lead over Houston (41-27), not to mention the tiebreaker, which they already hold over Minnesota (43-27) and Denver (42-28).
First, during an absolute slugfest against the gritty Houston Rockets on Monday, Dončić mustered the skill, strength and energy to produce 36 points on 14 of 27 field goals despite the home team throwing the kitchen sink of big, long athletes his way throughout the night en route to LA’s sixth straight victory.
Then in the rematch, with the Rockets desperate not to fall twice in a row at home, Dončić slammed the door emphatically in crunch time, with two of his seven 3-pointers sandwiching a pair of alley-oops to teammates after he split Houston double teams in style.
“That’s Luka Magic,” summarized Marcus Smart. “We all know it. We’ve all seen it and experienced it. I’ve been on both ends, where he’s in that zone against me. And now where I’m watching him as a teammate. We know the type of offensive talent he can be, and it’s not easy against a team (like Houston).”
“He’s been one of the best players in the league for a long time,” added Austin Reaves with a shrug. “He’s 6’8’’, strong, has a high release, puts all that together and he’s a solid basketball player.”
Dončić so appreciated Smart’s defense on him from his Dallas days that he was a big proponent of getting Smart on the Lakers. The former Defensive Player of the Year when he was in Boston recalls their battles, and how difficult Luka makes it on even the best of defenders.
“He can shoot the ball from all three areas on the floor,” Smart explained. “He does a really good job of creating contact and making you (off balance). We all know how savvy he is. Usually when you’re guarding someone, they’re only doing one thing. He can do it all.” |  |
As Dončić bolstered his MVP case during the 7-game winning streak, he’s been determined to carry a heavy load offensively, and he’s loving how the team is playing.
“The spirit is at an all-time high,” said Dončić. “Winning is fun. Just the way we’re playing, it’s been a lot of fun.”
Indeed, Dončić helped deliver enough points to get the job done, but he was a part of a total team effort defensively that held Houston to just 35 second half points, and 12 in the fourth quarter, when LA forced nine of 22 Rockets turnovers on Monday.
“The effort and communication, both were at a high level,” he explained. “Today I don’t think we played good, but just to get a win against team like Houston is impressive. That’s what good teams do. You’re not going to have a great day shooting the ball (every game).”
“They’re a really good basketball team and they make you either play hard and match their physicality and how they muck the game up, or you can lay down, and we didn’t lay down tonight,” said JJ Redick. “We had a deficit in the third quarter, our guys just kept playing. I thought defensively, in the second half with some of the adjustments we made at halftime, we just executed really, really well, particularly with trying to get the ball out of (Kevin) Durant’s hands. We forced nine turnovers in the fourth quarter doing that.”
There’s been a lot on Luka’s shoulders this season, not least of which was a trip overseas, on top of some injuries he’s had to deal with.
“I think, the way that he's navigated this season, given all of the things that he's going through … having to take a plane to Slovenia to be there for the birth of his daughter, come back, meet us in Philly,” detailed Redick. “Some bumps and bruises that he's played through, our injuries. He's been at the forefront of everything we've done, and everything that we've had success with. He's been at the forefront. I mean, he's really done a fantastic job of leading this group.”
Before the Lakers got to Houston, they had perhaps their most impressive win of the year, in perhaps the NBA’s most entertaining game of the season, a 127-125 overtime victory over Denver in which Dončić nailed a step-back jumper on the baseline with 0.5 seconds to play.
“I saw the double coming, so I reject(ed it), went to my left hand, to my left step back,” he explained, a shot he’s practiced a million times. “I just trust the shot.”
That was the final blow of the game, getting Luka to 30 points with 13 assists, 11 boards and 3 blocks, but he was thrilled with how many of his teammates – not to mention the crowd – stepped up around him.
“It was only fitting that everybody on the floor did something, did something to get us that win,” he explained. “Those wins, when you have a big lead and you get down it's easy to, not quit, but just relax a little bit.
“We got the crowd into it and that helped us a lot … I felt like it was the best atmosphere since (I joined) the Lakers. The whole crowd was in it. It was real special to witness that and hopefully it's more times. But, I had, I would say, goosebumps a little bit. It was amazing to see it during that one.” |  |
LeBron, who at age 41 laid his body out for a full dive onto the floor, was impressed.
“Just a big-time shot by a *$%$@! generational player,” he said. “He's just a big-time player, man. We wanted the last shot. We wanted to put the ball in our guy's hands. It started with AR, AR was able to find him. He was able to get away from the double team and just hit one of his patented step backs. So, it's going to be just the first of many game winners like that for him and in a Lakers uniform.”
Then came the consecutive wins at Houston, which had the players riding as high as they’ve been all season.
“It’s an amazing feeling, honestly,” Dončić concluded. “I love winning. Everything is better when you’re winning. We have great chemistry. We have a great team. This is just the start of something beautiful.”
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