Dallas

MIAMI — The chants started in a purple-and-gold-clad cluster in the upper deck at Kaseya Center. As Luka Doncic’s scoring total crept up with each step-back three, free throw or fadeaway shot, the cheers grew louder, coming from every corner by fans dressed in every color.

“M-V-P! M-V-P!”

“That’s what I think every player wants to hear,” Doncic said.

Doncic’s season-high 60 points — the first 60-point game for a Lakers player since Kobe Bryant’s swan song in 2016 — led the Lakers to a 134-126 win over the Miami Heat on Thursday. It was another exceptional feat in Doncic’s late-season campaign for the NBA’s most valuable player.

The NBA’s leading scorer poured in 100 points in less than 24 hours, helping the Lakers extend their winning streak to eight games. Doncic is averaging 40.9 points per game over the streak, shooting 42.2% from three-point range. He became just the seventh Laker to record a 60-point game, joining franchise legends Bryant, Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain, George Mikan, Jerry West and Shaquille O’Neal.

“It was a superhero performance,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said.

Doncic’s dominance has rescued the Lakers, propelling them to a season-best winning streak. The team’s previous best winning streak was built by taking down bottom-feeding teams including New Orleans, Utah and Dallas. This streak is against some of the league’s best: Six wins are against teams with a .500 record or better and five were against .600 teams. The Lakers have climbed from sixth to third in the Western Conference in two weeks, netting critical tiebreakers against rivals Minnesota, Denver and Houston.

Lakers star Luka Doncic, left, controls the ball in front of Miami’s Bam Adebayo during the first quarter Thursday.

(Rich Storry / Getty Images)

Doncic, in his first full season with the Lakers, began the season as one of the betting favorites to win MVP. But the Lakers went through December doldrums, losing four out of five. He missed two games while traveling to Slovenia to be present for the birth of his second daughter, Olivia. When he returned, Doncic shot 24.5% from three over the next five games.

Doncic’s defense was criticized, along with his consistent complaining to referees. Reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who leads the Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City Thunder with 31.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 6.6 assists, figures to still be the favorite in the MVP race, especially with the Thunder on a conference-best 10-game winning streak.

Doncic’s production never dipped — he has maintained the league’s top scoring average for most of the season — but his play still lacked the same zip that made him a must-watch star in Dallas.

Lakers star Luka Doncic reacts after making a three-pointer in the third quarter Thursday against the Miami Heat.

(Rich Storry / Getty Images)

The Lakers embodied some of their star’s struggles. The team was sorting through injuries while trying to integrate new pieces. The chemistry “wasn’t there,” guard Marcus Smart said.

Finally, it all clicked, starting with Doncic.

“Just trusting my game,” Doncic said of how he’s reached this level at this stage of the season. “I know some games I won’t have it. … I’ve been there, so you just got to trust in yourself. I got all the support from my teammates, which helps me a lot.”

Teammates cheered, jumped and raised their fists from the Lakers bench when Doncic made his final free throw to finish off his 60-point night. On a night when LeBron James tied the NBA’s regular-season games played record, appearing in his 1,611th game and notching a 19-point, 15-rebound, 10-assist night, it was Doncic’s final points that seemed to make James smile the widest.

Doncic, who said the crowd’s chants gave him goosebumps, added it “makes my heart happy” seeing the reaction from all of his teammates.

Lakers star LeBron James reacts to a free throw by teammate Luka Doncic in the fourth quarter against the Miami Heat on Thursday.

(Rich Storry / Getty Images)

“We all know the talent that Luka is,” Smart said. “And when he gets in those modes, man, it’s definitely a sight to see, and you don’t want to miss it.”

Before the game, Redick sarcastically wouldn’t even utter the name of the award Doncic has positioned himself for, only saying he believed Doncic should be in the “M-word conversation.”

If it’s not the cheers from the crowd, Doncic doesn’t care about the chatter either.

“It’s you guys, the media,” Doncic said. “I ain’t got nothing to do with it.”

Annabel Schofield, a model who was a fixture in 1980s L.A. nightlife and landed a guest-starring role in the 11th season of the CBS series “Dallas,” has died after a battle with cancer that spread to her brain. She was 62.

Schofield died Saturday in Los Angeles, according to the Hollywood Reporter, which confirmed the news via model and designer Catalina Guirado.

“I hate asking for help,” she wrote in December on a GoFundMe campaign she organized apparently out of necessity. “I’ve done it so much, but I have no choice. I have no other means of support. The small amount I was left by my dad has gone a long time ago, and any unemployment I was due was eaten up by the pandemic. I know begging for help is not sustainable in the long term, but I’m praying this ENT doctor will be able to remove this large tumor and I’ll finally be able to get back to a normal life, and to start working again.”

The final update was from Jan. 18, after she had emergency surgery to remove that tumor, and her mood was one of momentary relief. Boldface names donating to the cause included composer Hans Zimmer, singer-songwriter Donovan Leitch and actor Lisa Edelstein.

Born in Llanelli, Wales, on Sept. 4, 1963, she was the daughter of movie producer John D. Schofield, whose credits included “As Good as It Gets” and “Jerry Maguire.” Schofield started modeling in London, a city she later described to Mirror80 as being on the cutting edge of 1980s fashion with “the New Romantics, the tail end of punk, Vivienne Westwood, Katharine Hamnett, Body Map, Buffalo style … and all the resulting street styles.”

“[I]n London we ALL dressed up, both boys and girls all the time; especially for the clubs,” she told the retro-style outlet in 2012. “I really miss that sartorial creativity. Now it seems that girls just want to show as much flesh as possible.”

She worked with brands including Versace, Yves St. Laurent, Revlon, Avon and Levi’s, according to a biography posted in connection with a novel she wrote, and appeared on more than 60 magazine covers and in more than 120 TV commercials.

Schofield gained international recognition for a late ’80s jeans commercial that had her speeding through the desert in a black Ferrari, then screeching to a stop after spotting a strapping young man standing on the side of the road in jeans and a white T-shirt. Rolling down the passenger-side window, she said, “Excuse me. Are those Bugle Boy jeans you’re wearing?” Getting an affirmative answer, she told the man, “Thank you,” then rolled up her window and sped away, leaving him in the dust.

At the height of her modeling career, THR said, Schofield up and moved from London to L.A. She landed that “Dallas” guest-star gig in 1988. It was only her second acting credit, after a 1982 role in a movie about an adventurer who frees an aquatic monster that forces locals to sacrifice virgins. That movie, “Bloodtide,” was executive produced by her father.

As Laurel Ellis in the nighttime drama, Schofield entranced Clayton Farlow, played by Howard Keel. But there was no romance between their characters: In one episode, Laurel told matriarch Miss Ellie (Barbara Bel Geddes) — who would later marry Clayton — that Clayton was “almost a father figure” to her, and she had simply been trying to show him “what a wonderful man” he was. “Nothing ever happened between us,” Laurel told Miss Ellie.

Off the set of the hit series, “L.A. was having a moment” at that time, event producer David Rodgers told The Times in 2006. “Melrose Avenue was cool, Helmut Newton was out every night with Annabel Schofield, Greg Gorman, Herb Ritts, Sandra Bernhard, Barbara and Timothy Leary and Tina Chow. We saw a different mix then; it wasn’t just about celebrities. No one wore designer clothes. It was about, ‘Are you cool now?’”

Schofield’s other acting credits included lead roles in 1996’s “Exit in Red” with Mickey Rourke and “Midnight Blue” (1997) with Harry Dean Stanton and Dean Stockwell.

After the turn of the millennium, Schofield went behind the camera as a producer for several projects. She also worked as her father’s assistant on movies he executive produced including “The Brothers Grimm,” “Doom” and “How Do You Know.” The last was written and directed by James L. Brooks and starred Reese Witherspoon, Paul Rudd and Jack Nicholson.

She formed her own boutique production company, Bella Bene Productions, in 2010, and into September 2022 the company was working on short films, events and fashion campaigns, according to Schofield’s posts on Facebook.

That novel she wrote, by the way, was “The Cherry Alignment,” released in late 2013. The semi-autobiographical story “follows the roller-coaster life of the witty, uninhibited and gorgeous Angelika Douglas; a legendary ’80’s supermodel, actress and full-time bon vivant.” Amazon has it filed under “Erotica,” in the “Humorous” sub-category.

Schofield’s friends remembered her fondly, leaving tributes on Instagram over the weekend.

“She was beautiful inside and out: a model, actress, producer, animal lover, warm and weird in the best way possible,” writer and friend Merle Ginsberg wrote Sunday on social media. “She will be so missed. But at least she won’t suffer anymore.”

“RIP Annabel Schofield — an old friend and a truly gifted, beautiful British actress and top model whose career in print, television and film took her from the UK to Hollywood,” British TV producer, journalist and entertainment personality Sean Borg wrote Sunday. “You fought so hard, Annabel. You had such a special light about you. You will be missed by so many. Fly high and rest in peace.”

A TRAILBLAZING 80s supermodel who starred alongside TV titan Larry Hagman in Dallas has died aged 62.

Annabel Schofield – once one of the defining faces of Britain’s style revolution – passed away on February 28 in Los Angeles following a battle with cancer, it has been confirmed.

The Welsh-born beauty became synonymous with the bold, rule-breaking glamour of 1980s London.

At the height of her fame, she was represented by London’s powerhouse Take Two Agency and became a cover girl sensation.

She fronted hundreds of fashion magazines and landing major campaigns for Yves Saint Laurent, Rimmel, Revlon and Boots No. 7.

Her international breakthrough came in unforgettable fashion – roaring through the desert in a black Ferrari for a Bugle Boy Jeans TV advert before delivering the now-iconic line: “Excuse me, are those Bugle Boy jeans you’re wearing?”

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She later crossed into primetime television, playing Laurel Ellis opposite Larry Hagman in the hit US soap Dallas – cementing her place in pop culture history.

Melissa Richardson, former owner of London’s Take Two Agency, paid tribute in an emotional statement.

“She was one of David Bailey’s favorites and appeared in countless shoots for Italian Vogue. She was the forerunner of Take Two without her, we could never have made it as we did.

“We loved her because she was funny and real and beautiful and down to earth. She never changed from the sweet little 17-year-old Welsh girl I first met.

“She was directly loyal, caring, and above all, a raging beauty. She knew her craft. She was the best.”

Born on September 4, 1963 in Llanelli, Wales, Schofield was trained in the art of the silver screen.

Her father was British film production executive John D. Schofield – a powerhouse behind major box office hits including Romancing the Stone, Jerry Maguire and As Good as It Gets.

At the height of her modelling fame, Schofield made the bold move to Los Angeles – and swiftly landed a coveted role in 12 episodes of Dallas, playing Laurel Ellis opposite Larry Hagman’s legendary oil tycoon J.R. Ewing.

She starred as Alex Noffee in Solar Crisis alongside screen icon Charlton Heston, and went on to appear in Dragonard and Eye of the Widow.

In later years, she quietly built a formidable career behind the scenes, working in production on major films including The Brothers Grimm, Doom and City of Ember.

In 2010, she launched her own Burbank-based company, Bella Bene Productions, carving out a new chapter as an executive producer.

She developed commercials, music ventures and high-end fashion projects.

Schofield formed a creative partnership with director and graphic artist Nick Egan – famed for his work with music royalty including The Ramones, The Clash, Duran Duran and Oasis.

The beauty also collaborated with celebrated photographers Andrew McPherson, Ellen von Unwerth and Michael Muller.

She served as a producer alongside photographer Will Camden on the striking 3D Guerlain campaign starring Angelina Jolie.