In a 126-106 loss to the Bucks, Doncic failed to help his team win despite an impressive individual performance, shooting 14 of 27 from the field, 7 of 13 from 3-point range and 10 of 12 from free throw range for a Lakers career-high 45 points, while adding 11 rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block.
Doncic became only the third player in Lakers history to score at least 45 points, rebound 10 and make at least five 3-pointers in a game, following Kobe Bryant (three times) and Lebron James, but Doncic didn’t care: “It doesn’t matter because we lost the game. Putting up flashy numbers isn’t going to change that.” These days, the Lakers face a packed schedule, playing six games in eight days. Doncic said: “I don’t think I have experienced anything like that, but since we took the money, there should be no excuse, like tired or anything. You live for this and after every game make sure you recover well and move on.” When asked if he would play against Denver tomorrow, Doncic said, “We’ll see. We’ll decide that at the time.”
The Lakers were also short-handed for the game, with James, Hayes and Hachimura all missing due to injuries. “No one is going to feel sorry for us,” Reeves said. “Every team is going to want to beat us by 30 points, so we have to find a way not to let that happen and try to compete and win.” Despite all the difficulties, the Lakers still need to work hard to achieve better results in the following games.
