Doncic

From Broderick Turner: Luka Doncic drilled a three-pointer right in front of the Clippers’ bench late in the first quarter and then glared at them, shaking his head as he ran back down court to play defense for the Lakers, just one of the many piercing stares he sent their way after delivering one of his three-point bombs.

It seems as if Doncic has his own personal rivalry against the Clippers and it just simply folded into the inter-city rivalry.

And once again, Doncic overwhelmed the Clippers in directing the Lakers to a 135-118 win Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena.

He came up one rebound shy of a triple-double, with 43 points, 13 assists and nine rebounds. He was 14 for 28 from the field, seven for 12 from three-point range and eight for 11 from the free-throw line.

In leading the Lakers to their fifth straight win, Doncic now has recorded 39 double-double games of at least 40 points, which moved him past Anthony Davis for the fourth most among active players and tying Magic Johnson for the sixth most 40-point double-doubles as a Laker.

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Lakers box score

NBA standings

UCLA BASKETBALL

From Ben Bolch: It was the sort of showing that left Mick Cronin with plenty to criticize, and he didn’t hold back.

In a somewhat subdued monologue after a loss that will probably knock his team out of the national rankings, the UCLA basketball coach lamented his team’s attitude, lack of toughness, inability to make free throws and shortage of savvy despite being filled with veterans.

His harshest verbal jab? Cronin saved that for himself.

“Look, I’m not happy with our performance,” Cronin said after the No. 18 Bruins’ 80-72 setback against California on Tuesday night at the Chase Center, “but I’ll take the blame. You guys can read the stat sheet, you saw the game, you make your own assessments, [but] when it comes to the game, how we play is my responsibility.”

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UCLA box score

USC BASKETBALL

From Ryan Kartje: When Lindsay Gottlieb put together a nonconference schedule she believed to be the hardest in the country, USC’s coach knew it would be an uphill climb. But that was the point. She wanted her team to be tested nightly, to play on “the biggest stages.”

“It’s not a schedule designed to win every nonconference game by an average of 40 points,” Gottlieb said earlier this month.

But after losing twice through a five-game gauntlet to start the season, a blowout nonconference win was precisely what the doctor ordered for USC.

Any pent-up frustration still lingering from USC’s last-second loss to Notre Dame was promptly taken out on Tennessee Tech on Tuesday in an 85-44 win for the Trojans.

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USC box score

————

Ezra Ausar and Chad Baker-Mazara combined for 31 of USC’s second-half points to rally the Trojans to an 83-81 victory over Seton Hall on Tuesday after losing leading scorer Rodney Rice to an injury in a Maui Invitational semifinal.

Ausur finished with a season-high 25 points, hitting 15 of 19 free throws, and Baker-Mazara scored 18 for the Trojans (6-0).

Adam Clark scored 18 points, AJ Staton-McCray 17, Mike Williams III 13 and Elijah Fisher 10 for the Pirates (6-1).

Rice brought the Trojans back from a 13-point deficit to get them within four at halftime, scoring 13 points, but left early in the second half with an apparent upper arm/shoulder injury and trailing 46-44. Baker-Mazara stepped up, scoring 12 points over the next five minutes with his 3 finishing a 10-0 run and putting the Trojans ahead 63-57 with 12 minutes to go.

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USC box score

RAMS

From Sam Farmer: Rams defensive end Kobie Turner, a 294-pound man strong enough to carry a piano on his back, can also tap out a tune.

The country saw that Sunday night when, on two occasions, NBC aired video footage of Turner expertly playing a complex version of the “Sunday Night Football” theme song. He learned it by ear, then set up his phone to capture the clip.

The song was written by legendary composer John Williams and originally was called “Wide Receiver,” although NBC never adopted that name.

“He listened to it a couple of times and was able to play it and add his own flair,” NBC coordinating producer Rob Hyland said of Turner, who majored in music theory and composition at University of Richmond.

“I was completely blown away. Kobie has so much talent on the football field and just as much with musical instruments. His nickname, `The Conductor,’ is very fitting.”

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Da Bears and ‘Super Bowl Shuffle’: HBO doc revisits ‘perfect storm’ that became a phenomenon

Drew Brees, Philip Rivers, Larry Fitzgerald lead Pro Football Hall of Fame modern era semifinalists

LAFC

From Kevin Baxter: Steve Cherundolo’s first season at LAFC ended in a penalty-kick shootout that decided one of the most compelling playoff games in MLS history. His final season ended in the same way last Saturday.

Cherundolo and LAFC won that first classic match, beating the Philadelphia Union in the 2022 MLS Cup final. They lost the second one, falling to the shorthanded Vancouver Whitecaps in a Western Conference semifinal that had more plot twists than an Agatha Christie mystery.

In between, Cherundolo proved to be one of the best coaches in league history, winning an MLS Cup, a U.S. Open Cup and more than 100 games in all competition in his short four-year stay. He took LAFC to a CONCACAF Champions League final and to the first round of the FIFA Club World Cup, compiling a resume no coach in MLS history can match.

And while his departure will clearly hurt, the club he leaves is in good shape with the core of its roster signed for next season. Of the 16 players Cherundolo used Saturday, just five — goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, defenders Nkosi Tafari and Ryan Raposo and midfielders Andrew Moran and Frankie Amaya — are out of contract.

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THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY

1917 — The NHL is formed with five charter members: Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Maroons, Toronto Arenas, Ottawa Senators, Quebec Bulldogs. Frank Calder is elected president.

1949 — Boston College beats Holy Cross 76-0, with Al Cannava rushing for 229 yards.

1956 — In the Melbourne Olympics, Vyacheslav Ivanov of the Soviet Union wins the single sculls. After receiving the gold medal, he jumps up and down and accidentally drops it through the slats in the float and it sinks to the bottom of the lake.

1961 — Jerry Norton of St. Louis becomes the only NFL player to have four interceptions in a game twice. He picks off four, two for touchdowns, in the Cardinals’ 30-27 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

1988 — For the first time in their long rivalry, Notre Dame and USC enter the game undefeated and ranked Nos. 1-2. The top-ranked Fighting Irish win 27-10.

1989 — Willie “Flipper” Anderson of the Rams sets an NFL game record with 336 yards receiving. Anderson has 15 catches, one for a touchdown, in the Rams’ 20-17 overtime victory over the New Orleans Saints.

1994 — The Cleveland Cavaliers sets an NBA record by attempting just two free throws, during a 101-87 home victory over Golden State. John Williams and Tony Campbell go 1-for-1 from the line.

1995 — Dolphins QB Dan Marino sets NFL record with 343rd touchdown pass.

1997 — Charles Jones scores a school-record 53 points and Long Island University beats Division III Medgar Evers 179-62, breaking the NCAA record for margin of victory. The 117-point difference eclipses the mark of 97 set by Southern in a 154-57 victory over Patten in 1993.

1999 — Detroit’s Steve Yzerman scores his 600th career goal in the Red Wings’ 4-2 win against the Edmonton Oilers at Joe Louis Arena. He’s the 11th player in NHL history to reach 600 goals.

2005 — Defenseman Marek Malik ends the NHL’s longest shootout in the 15th round, fooling goalie Olie Kolzig with a trick shot to give the New York a 3-2 victory over the Washington Capitals. Malik wins it by taking a shot with his stick between his skates.

2005 — Florida International ties an NCAA record by returning four interceptions for touchdowns in a 52-6 rout of rival Florida Atlantic.

2010 — UConn defeats Howard 86-25 to win its 82nd straight game, setting an NCAA women’s basketball record for consecutive victories.

2010 — Cam Newton passes for three touchdowns and runs for another, rallying No. 2 Auburn from a 24-point for a 28-27 victory over No. 9 Alabama that kept the Tigers on course for a shot at the national championship.

2011 — Illinois finishes the season with its sixth straight loss, 27-7 at Minnesota. The Illini become the first FBS team to open the regular-season with six straight wins and close it with six losses in a row.

2013 — Jordan Lynch breaks his single-game rushing record for quarterbacks with 321 yards, and No. 18 Northern Illinois completes its first unbeaten regular season in 50 years with a 33-14 victory over Western Michigan.

2016 — Nate Peterman throws for 251 yards and four TDs and runs for another score to lead Pittsburgh past Syracuse 76-61 — the most combined points for a regulation FBS game.

2016 — Will Worth accounts for four touchdowns while becoming the first Navy quarterback with more than 100 yards rushing and 100 yards passing in three consecutive games when the Midshipmen rout SMU 75-31. The Midshipmen, who beat East Carolina 66-31 the previous week, have consecutive 60-point games for the first time since 1917.

2017 — Julio Jones finishes with 12 receptions for 253 yards and two touchdowns in Atlanta’s 34-20 victory against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It’s Jones’ third career game with at least 250 yards receiving; no other player has more than one.

Compiled by the Associated Press

Until next time…

That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at [email protected]. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

Luka Doncic drilled a three-pointer right in front of the Clippers’ bench late in the first quarter and then glared at them, shaking his head as he ran back down court to play defense for the Lakers, just one of the many piercing stares he sent their way after delivering one of his three-point bombs.

It seems as if Doncic has his own personal rivalry against the Clippers and it just simply folded into the inter-city rivalry.

And once again, Doncic overwhelmed the Clippers in directing the Lakers to a 135-118 win Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena.

He came up one rebound shy of a triple-double, dropping 43 points, 13 assists and nine rebounds. He was 14 for 28 from the field, seven for 12 from three-point range and eight for 11 from the free-throw line.

In leading the Lakers to their fifth straight win, Doncic now has recorded 39 double-double games of at least 40 points, which moved him past Anthony Davis for the fourth most among active players and tying Magic Johnson for the sixth most 40-point double-doubles as a Laker.

Doncic also tied Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal for the most 40-point double-doubles as a Laker before the age of 27 since the NBA/ABA merger (five).

“I think we played a great game,” Doncic said. “I think they were getting a lot of shots, especially in the first half.”

Late in the fourth quarter, the game turned physical, and Doncic was in the middle of it.

Kris Dunn pushed Doncic in the back, and Doncic confronted Dunn, who then put the basketball in Doncic’s chest. Jaxson Hayes then stepped in and pushed Dunn.

In the end, Dunn was assessed two technical fouls and ejected from the game and Hayes was assessed a technical foul. Doncic shot a technical foul free throw with 3:33 left in the game.

“Of course, I appreciate it,” Doncic said about Hayes stepping in to help him. “I told him right away, ‘Thanks for having my back.’ And that says a lot about him. That says a lot about this team. Everybody has got each other’s back.”

Kawhi Leonard of the Clippers was called for a foul after knocking down Austin Reaves on this play.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Doncic scored 24 points against the Clippers in the first quarter alone, making his first five three-pointers before finishing the quarter five for eight from three, nine for 14 from the field, many of the baskets punctuated by a stare down at the Clippers’ bench.

By the half, Doncic had posted 32 points on 11-for-17 shooting and six for 10 on three-pointers and six assists.

Over the course of his career with the Lakers and the Dallas Mavericks, Doncic, who is averaging 12.5 free-throw attempts per game, has torn the Clippers apart.

Entering Tuesday night’s game, he had averaged 32.2 points per game over 20 games, his highest against any Western Conference foe. He had produced 7.9 rebounds, 7.4 assists and shot 48% from the field, 36% from the three-point line.

When asked why he has performed so well against the Clippers, Doncic shrugged.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I think we just met a lot of times in the playoffs. They beat me the first two times, so I don’t know what it is. I guess I like it.”

With Deandre Ayton (right knee contusion) out and Hayes starting in his place, Austin Reaves (31 points) and LeBron James (25), did their part to help the Lakers clinch Group B of the NBA cup with a 3-0 record.

The Lakers finish group play against the Dallas Mavericks here Friday night and the Clippers complete their group play against the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night at Intuit Dome.

Etc.

Lakers coach JJ Redick said that Ayton got an MRI exam on his knee that “was clean other than just some swelling, a little bit of a bruise.” Ayton was injured in the first half against the Jazz Sunday. “Don’t think it’s going to be a long-term thing,” Redick said. “Hopefully it’s a game-to-game thing and he’s back at some point by the end of the week.”…The Lakers announced that they signed forward Drew Timme to a two-way contract and waived two-way center Christian Koloko. Timme has played for the Lakers’ G League team, the South Bay Lakers, and posted averages of 25.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists in 25.5 minutes over six games. The 6-foot-10 Timme played his college basketball at Gonzaga.

SALT LAKE CITY — The Lakers won their fourth consecutive game Sunday, holding off the Utah Jazz 108-106 in Delta Center behind 33 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists from Luka Doncic.

The Lakers (12-4) nearly squandered a 10-point lead in the final six minutes and 36 seconds, allowing the Jazz to cut the lead to one with 41.3 seconds remaining on a three-pointer from Lauri Markkanen. The Utah Jazz crowd that had been cheering loudly for the Lakers finally erupted for the home team when the Finnish forward knocked down the shot.

Markkanen could have given the Jazz (5-11) the lead with a 17-foot shot in the key, but the midrange jumper rattled out with 11.4 seconds to go. After Doncic split a pair of free throws, the Lakers forced Jazz guard Keyonte George into a contested three at the buzzer to seal the win.

LeBron James, playing in his second game of the year, had 17 points with eight assists. Austin Reaves had 22 points with 10 rebounds and four assists.

Starting center Deandre Ayton missed the second half because of a right leg contusion. He had just two points on one for two shooting in the first half while Doncic still powered the Lakers to a seven-point lead.

The guard continued to struggle with his three-point shot, missing seven of his first eight shots from beyond the arc Sunday, but dazzled with his playmaking again. He intercepted a pass, bounced the ball between Kevin Love’s legs while running the fastbreak and scooped up a lob pass to Jaxson Hayes. The roar from the pro-Lakers road crowd was just as loud as anything the Jazz did.

When Doncic attracted a triple team in the paint, he fired a two-handed, no-look pass backwards over his head to Marcus Smart who knocked down a three that put the Lakers up 55-49.

The Lakers entered the game shooting 33.8% from three, ranked 24th in the league. Doncic and Austin Reaves, the team’s highest volume shooters, have struggled the most. Reaves was one for eight from three on Sunday. Doncic was three for 12, including shots so off course that they barely grazed the rim.

When he finally got a shot to trickle over the rim in the third, Doncic held both arms out in disbelief and relief as the ball bounced up high and then through the net in the third quarter.

Welcome back to the Lakers newsletter, where I need a recovery ice bath after all that travel.

The Lakers went 3-2 during an uneven trip that ended on a high note with back-to-back wins in New Orleans and Milwaukee. But after getting thrashed by Oklahoma City in Game 3 of the five-game trip, Marcus Smart said the team was starting to show its fatigue on the road. After packing, repacking and already reaching the next level of hotel loyalty status less than a month into the season, I can relate.

But, similiar to my favorite colleague Brad Turner picking up the travel slack, the Lakers also have reinforcements.

LeBron James is back. Now what?

Austin Reaves and Luka Doncic established themselves as one of the league’s most dynamic duos while powering the shorthanded Lakers to a 10-4 record. With LeBron James officially back on the Lakers’ practice court, he could make this three a real party.

“I’m a ball player,” James said Monday after his first full practice with the team this year. “… There’s not one team, not one club in the world that I cannot fit in and play for. I can do everything on the floor. So whatever this team needs me to do, I can do it when I’m back to myself.”

Despite the encouraging start that has the team fourth in the West, the Lakers are not modern basketball’s statistical darling. They play slowly (19th in pace), take the fourth-fewest three-pointers in the league while making the second-worst percentage and have the third-most turnovers per game. James, who still stopped short of saying he is pain-free from right sciatica, is unlikely to be an immediate solution to any of those problems.

But he is still the NBA’s all-time leading scorer.

“It’s LeBron,” Reaves said. “Just his presence and his ability is going to lift the team.”

The team joked during the film session that it got a new player Monday. James introduced himself to his teammates. Reaves and Doncic have become the favorite “bromance” of some niche NBA social media circles, and the Lakers’ chemistry was one of the key talking points from its early season success. Players joke on the bench, trash talk each other in Instagram comments and Doncic’s post-practice half-court shooting competition has expanded to include at least three other teammates.

James observed all the good vibes from afar. He sent congratulatory texts after wins and encouraging texts after losses, but returning Monday felt like “a kid going to a new school again.” He knows fitting with the team will have to come organically.

“He has the ability to lift everybody’s day,” Reaves said. “All these guys grew up loving him. So it’s good to get his voice back in the room and obviously the IQ speaks for itself, as well.”

When asked of what he saw from the team while sidelined, James rattled off a long list of observations. He loved the ball movement. He noted Deandre Ayton’s ability to anchor the back line and commended the 7-foot center as “one of the best screen setters” in the league. James shouted out the 25 critical minutes from Maxi Kleber in the win over Milwaukee, the contributions of Jake LaRavia, Rui Hachimura and Marcus Smart and the way younger players such as Nick Smith Jr. and Bronny James chipped in when the team was shorthanded against Portland on the second night of a back-to-back.

And he loved the dominance from Doncic and Reaves.

Doncic is leading the league in scoring with 34.4 points per game. He’s getting blitzed almost every time he crosses midcourt and still orchestrating an offense that is second in field-goal percentage (50.4).

Reaves is having a career year: 28.3 points, 8.2 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 1.4 steals are all career-bests. Of course with James out, Reaves’ usage rate is also at an all-time high.

When asked how he expects coverages to change for him with James back, Reaves shrugged. It’ll at least make his life easier, he said, to have who he calls “the greatest player to ever touch a basketball” back on the court.

“I don’t expect it to be perfect,” coach JJ Redick said. “But I also don’t expect it to be like, ‘Oh, these guys have never seen each other and met each other and don’t know each other’s name.’ They know what each of them bring.”

Last year, the Doncic-James-Reaves trio had an offensive rating of 117.8 points per 100 possessions. This year, the Lakers have a 121.6 offensive rating when Doncic and Reaves are on the floor together, the team’s highest mark for any two-man combination of starters.

Redick expects James’ presence will shake things up. He will command roughly 35 minutes when he is healthy, which will naturally disrupt the rotation and rhythm of his teammates. This will take some trial and error.

“There are some little formula of things you got to add,” Redick said. “If you put too much cinnamon in there, cookie’s not that good.”

Just let the Lakers cook.

The rookie will remember his first

Adou Thiero dunks over Milwaukee’s Andre Jackson Jr.

(Morry Gash / Associated Press)

Adou Thiero fought to get back on the court and make his NBA debut. It was only right that his teammates would fight for him to commemorate the moment.

After the second-round pick scored four points in his first NBA action Saturday, including an emphatic two-handed dunk in the final minute of the win, Jarred Vanderbilt made sure to grab the game ball. He clutched it tightly as referee Pat Fraher tried to take it back. LaRavia and Doncic soon joined for backup, explaining they wanted to keep it for Thiero.

Eventually, it was Giannis Antetokounmpo who took the ball back from a Bucks staffer and handed it to Doncic, who wanted to deliver the meaningful memento to the Lakers’ rookie.

“I think he can be a great player,” Doncic told reporters. “He’s physical. He can jump out of the gym. And, you know, he’s a fighter.”

Redick and the coaching staff were mindful that the situation could have been difficult for Thiero. He didn’t get a preseason or a training camp. The rookie was coming off an injury and playing in the first half while making his NBA debut.

But Thiero made a good first impression.

He scrambled for an offensive rebound that led to a three-pointer from Kleber in the first quarter. He played a quick two-minute stint in the first half then returned in mop-up duty during the fourth quarter, scoring his first points on two made free throws that had the Lakers on their feet celebrating.

Then his two-handed dunk in transition sent the Lakers’ bench into pandemonium.

“Coming down and seeing everybody flexing all over the bench,” Thiero said, “it was just a good feeling for everybody to be happy for me.”

When Thiero returned to the locker room, it felt like a release. He told teammates he had waited seven months for that.

He suffered a hyperextended knee while playing for Arkansas on Feb. 22 and missed eight games. The Razorbacks’ leading scorer and rebounder returned in the NCAA regional semifinal but played just six minutes off the bench as Arkansas lost to Texas Tech. He got surgery after the college season and said at Lakers media day he was still working through some swelling in his knee.

“You could tell how hard he works,” Reaves said. “The time that he’s in the gym. He’s had some unfortunate injuries here and there, but really good kid, wants to do the right things, always on time. Just good character.”

On tap

By reader request, we’ll include a brief lookahead section previewing the upcoming week’s games. This one is easy: The Lakers host Utah on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. in their only game this week.

The Jazz (5-8) lost center Walker Kessler to a season-ending shoulder surgery, but are led by forward Lauri Markkanen’s 30.6 points and 6.2 rebounds. The Finnish forward scored 47 points in the Jazz’s double-overtime win over the Chicago Bulls on Sunday in which guard Keyonte George hit the game-winning three with two seconds left. The third-year guard is averaging career-highs in points (22.2) and assists (seven).

Favorite thing I ate this week

The Cuban burrito from Cafe Kacao in Oklahoma City.

(Thuc Nhi Nguyen / Los Angeles Times)

I have beef with Oklahoma City. Out of loyalty to my hometown, I will carry this vendetta until at least the NBA expands back to Seattle. But I allow myself to praise precisely one thing in that city and it’s the Cuban burrito at Cafe Kacao. It’s packed with vaca frita (shredded beef with sauteed onions), plantains, black beans and rice. The sweet and savory drizzle of plantain sauce and garlic sauce is the perfect topping.

In case you missed it

LeBron James knows there will be a ‘feel-out’ process when he returns to Lakers

Lakers takeaways: What we learned from the team’s five-game road trip

Luka Doncic scores 41 as Lakers rout Milwaukee Bucks to cap 3-2 trip

With LeBron nearing a return, Austin Reaves and Luka Doncic lead Lakers past Pelicans

Lakers can’t keep up with Oklahoma City and are routed

Until next time…

As always, pass along your thoughts to me at [email protected], and please consider subscribing if you like our work!

The chants never let up at American Airlines Arena.

“Fire Nico!”

They started in February after Dallas Mavericks general manager and president of basketball operations Nico Harrison initiated a trade that sent superstar Luka Doncic to the Lakers and continued to occur at home games throughout the end of last season and into the 2025-26 campaign.

On Tuesday morning, those vocal fans got their wish, as Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont announced that Harrison had been let go weeks into his fifth season with the team. Dallas went 182-157 under the former Nike executive, including a 3-8 start to this season.

Assistant general managers Michael Finley and Matt Riccardi were named co-interim general managers to oversee basketball operations.

“This decision reflects our continued commitment to building a championship-caliber organization, one that delivers for our players, our partners, and most importantly, our fans,” Dumont said.

Harrison spent nearly two decades with Nike before being hired by the Mavericks in June 2021. The team made it to the Western Conference finals the following season and to the NBA Finals in 2024, with Doncic as its undisputed star.

Then came Feb. 1, when the Mavericks traded Doncic, Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris to the Lakers for Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a 2029 first-round draft pick. Harrison reportedly approached Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka about the possibility of the trade, and Dumont is said to have approved the deal before it was finalized.

The move shocked most people involved with the NBA, and Dallas fans felt blindsided. That’s when “Fire Nico” started. The words appeared on signs and T-shirts in addition to being yelled at home games, including the Mavericks’ 116-114 loss Monday to the Milwaukee Bucks.

During that game, Dumont was seen sitting courtside having a lengthy conversation with a fan in a Lakers jersey featuring Doncic’s name and number. That person, 18-year-old Mavericks fan Nicholas Dickason, told The Athletic that he had initiated the conversation to apologize to the team governor for yelling curse words at him and giving him the finger at a game earlier this season.

According to Dickason, Dumont accepted his apology and added an admission of his own.

“Basically Patrick was like, he feels horrible for the trade. And wants to make it up to us,” Dickason said. “That’s basically what he said. He accepted my apology for it as well.”

In April, after the Mavericks finished the 2024-25 season with a 39-43 record and missed the playoffs, Harrison admitted he underestimated the level of outrage the trade would cause.

“I did know that Luka was important to the fan base,” Harrison said. “I didn’t quite know it to what level.”

He added: “When you have 20,000 people in the stadium chanting ‘Fire Nico,’ you really feel it. … But my job is to make decisions I feel are in the best interest of this organization, and I gotta stand by the decisions, and some of them are going to be unpopular. This was clearly one that’s unpopular.”

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — For once, Luka Doncic had to serve the punishment. For not hitting any half-court shots during his pregame warmup, Doncic had to drop to the court and give his coaching staff push-ups.

The exercise seemingly powered him up for the two-handed dunk to come.

Doncic dazzled in the Lakers’ 121-111 win over the Charlotte Hornets on Monday at Spectrum Center, scoring 38 points with seven assists, six rebounds and one emphatic third-quarter dunk to help the Lakers flush the memories of a blowout loss in Atlanta.

Austin Reaves returned from a three-game absence with 24 points and seven assists while Rui Hachimura scored 21 points with perfect three-for-three shooting from three-point range.

Reaves, who was out with a right groin strain, announced his presence by throwing a lob to Deandre Ayton for the Lakers’ first basket. After Charlotte (3-7) blitzed the Lakers with eight three-pointers in the first quarter to take a 40-36 lead, Reaves answered by scoring seven of the Lakers’ first 10 points in the second. He gave the team a jolt of energy by racing for a transition layup to beat the halftime buzzer, giving the Lakers (8-3) a two-point lead.

“He’s an All-Star-level player,” coach JJ Redick said before the game. “He’s, along with Luka, an incredibly dynamic offensive player. I think our depth increases, the lineup optionality increases, so not having him in the lineup really, really hurts us.”

The Lakers went 2-1 in games without Reaves, but the 20-point loss to Atlanta on Saturday was so striking that Redick was left questioning the identity of his team. The Lakers looked lifeless. Redick waved the white flag by the middle of the third quarter after the starting unit let the deficit balloon to 25.

Lakers guard Austin Reaves shoots over Charlotte Hornets forward Miles Bridges during the first half Monday.

(Chris Carlson / Associated Press)

With Doncic and Reaves back, the Lakers wouldn’t repeat their third-quarter woes.

The Lakers started the second half with an 11-4 run that forced the Hornets to call a timeout. Reaves then assisted a three-pointer from Hachimura that pushed the lead into double digits. Doncic hit a step-back three to put the Lakers up by 12. Doncic’s assist to Hachimura extended the lead to 17.

A driving, two-handed dunk was the exclamation point, stunning the Charlotte crowd as he hung on the rim and screamed. With two dunks this season, he already doubled his total from last year.

Doncic assisted a Reaves three with 8:01 remaining in the fourth quarter and Reaves put up his arms and threw his head back in relief. He had missed his first seven three-point attempts and finished two for 10 from three-point range.

Reaves’ return gets the Lakers one player closer to their full roster. LeBron James is scheduled to practice with the South Bay Lakers this week as he progresses through his return from right sciatica.

Rookie Adou Thiero (left knee surgery recovery) is also nearing his return as Redick estimated the forward could make his NBA debut during this road trip, which continues Wednesday at Oklahoma City and ends with a back-to-back set in New Orleans on Friday and Milwaukee on Saturday.

PORTLAND, Ore. — Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves will miss the Lakers’ game in Portland on Monday as the team ruled both out with injuries.

One night after recording a 29-point, 11-rebound, 10-assist triple-double, Doncic is out to manage a lower leg contusion. Reaves, who scored 26 points and 11 assists in the Lakers’ 130-120 win over the Miami Heat, is out with right groin soreness.

This will be the fourth game Doncic has missed this season as he was also sidelined with a minor finger injury and a left leg contusion.

Playing in their second back-to-back of the season, the Lakers will again be short-handed. They had seven standard contract players when they hosted the Trail Blazers on the second night of a back-to-back last week. Portland won 122-108 as Reaves attempted to carry the team with 41 points.

The Lakers could also be without Deandre Ayton, who is questionable with back spasms. He missed Sunday’s game after experiencing pain last Friday in Memphis.

Forward Maxi Kleber was upgraded to questionable with an abdominal strain that has kept him sidelined all season.

Of course Luka Doncic made the one that didn’t count.

On a frigid shooting night when the star guard made just one three-pointer on 11 attempts, Doncic swished a 40-footer on a dead ball that elicited a roar from the Crypto.com Arena.

He instead made his impact in other ways.

Doncic overcame his bad shooting to still collect his first triple-double of the season, notching 29 points, 10 assists and 11 rebounds in the Lakers’ 130-120 victory over the Miami Heat on Sunday. Fellow guard Austin Reaves was also struggling with his shot, making just four of 14 three-point attempts, but rallied for 26 points and 11 assists to just three turnovers.

Although their stars slogged through concurrent off nights, the Lakers (5-2) still shot 50.5% from the field. They tallied 33 assists to 11 turnovers. They won their third consecutive game.

“We did a lot of really good things and it could have been even better if me and Luka would’ve made a shot,” Reaves deadpanned. “But supporting cast and everybody around that played really well.”

Forward Jake LaRavia, who turns 24 on Tuesday, scored in double digits for the third consecutive game off the bench, finishing with 25 points — two shy of his season high — and eight rebounds. He’s averaged 21.7 points per game in the last three games.

Doncic, who missed three games with minor finger and leg injuries, scored 40 points in each of his first three games this season. Only Wilt Chamberlain had ever started a season with three consecutive 40-point games. But Doncic was happy to sacrifice the scoring streak Sunday.

“We get a win,” Doncic said, “[it] doesn’t matter how many I scored.”

Doncic and Reaves struggled in the first quarter, shooting a combined two for seven from the field. Yet the Lakers still led by seven as the star duo combined for eight assists.

Center Jaxson Hayes was one of the main beneficiaries in that span, scoring 11 points on five-of-five shooting. He had a ferocious one-handed dunk off a Doncic assist that got Hayes so amped up that he head-butted the basket stanchion in celebration. He sank his first three-pointer since March 27, 2023, stepping confidently into a shot that put the Lakers up 23-13 and forced the Heat to call an early timeout.

Hayes finished with 15 points and five rebounds in his first start of the year as Deandre Ayton was held out because of back spasms. Ayton’s back flared up during the Lakers’ win in Memphis on Friday, causing him to sit out the entire second half. He was available to return in the fourth quarter, coach JJ Redick said after the game, but with the Lakers feeding off Hayes and Jarred Vanderbilt at center, the team didn’t want to risk further injury.

The Heat (3-3) finished the third quarter on a 20-7 run to pull within four points heading into the fourth quarter. Former UCLA star Jaime Jaquez Jr., playing in front of his hometown crowd, cut the lead to two with an emphatic one-handed put-back dunk 58 seconds in the fourth quarter. A hush fell over the Lakers crowd.

But Reaves helped quell the comeback effort.

He stumbled while trying to dribble behind his legs, but recovered to shoot a fadeaway mid-range jumper with 1.6 seconds left in the shot clock that put the Lakers up by six with 5:13 remaining in the fourth quarter. Less than 20 seconds later, Reaves threw a lob from just inside mid-court to a soaring LaRavia, who brought the crowd to its feet with a two-handed dunk.