Lakers player grades: Luka's 60 points give L.A. eighth straight win
Luka Doncic has been on a roll lately, but on Thursday versus the Heat, he had his highest scoring game as a member of the Lakers.
The Los Angeles Lakers sent a message to the rest of the NBA by defeating the Houston Rockets on the road on Monday and Wednesday to extend their winning streak to seven games. But they had to quickly turn around and travel one time zone east in order to face the Miami Heat on Thursday. They reportedly didn't arrive in South Florida until the early hours of this morning, which made fatigue and lack of sleep a concern.
Even worse, Luka Doncic, LeBron James and Austin Reaves were listed as questionable for this contest. While all three were cleared to play, it looked early as if the quick turnaround was handicapping the team. The Heat scored the first nine points of the game, and by playing fast-break basketball, including after made baskets, they led 42-29 at the end of the first quarter.
Los Angeles started to chop away at that deficit late in the second quarter and went into halftime down 65-59 before everything changed. L. A.
went on an 18-4 run in the third period to take a 90-79 lead, and all of a sudden, the team hardly looked fatigued. The fourth quarter was infested with many foul calls, but the Lakers did what was needed to maintain their lead throughout. In the end, it felt like Miami got hit by a Category 5 hurricane that gathered throughout the evening in the form of Luka Doncic.
Continue to the original source for the full article.