Luka achieves 600 points in March as Lakers finish with a 15-2 record.
LOS ANGELES — Following Luka Doncic’s impressive 42-point, 12-assist performance in the Lakers’ 127-113 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday, Lakers coach JJ Redick offered significant commendation for his star player regarding his achievements throughout March.
“I believe Luka has had one of the best months I can recall in the modern NBA, at least since I became involved,” Redick stated.
This marked Doncic’s third consecutive game scoring 40 points, bringing his total for March to 600 points — joining Michael Jordan from 1987 as the only other player to achieve this milestone in March, and one of just 10 players in history to score 600 points in any month.
As formidable as Doncic was, the Lakers were equally impressive, concluding the month with a record of 15-2.
“If you don’t win, it doesn’t really matter,” Doncic remarked when questioned about his scoring achievements. “So the streak we’ve been on is significant.”
For Doncic, who surpassed 15,000 career points during the game and significantly outshined Cleveland’s star Donovan Mitchell — who recorded 10 points on 4-for-10 shooting along with six assists — it was yet another MVP-caliber display.
However, he once again chose not to advocate for himself regarding the award.
“I never did that [in the past],” Doncic stated. “I’m not the one casting votes … But I believe I’ve been performing quite well. We’ve been winning. So that’s all I have to say.”
The victory against the Cavaliers was significant for reasons beyond Doncic’s performance.
It marked the 1,229th win of LeBron James’ career — combining regular season and playoffs — surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most wins by any player in NBA history.
Additionally, it was the 100th win of Redick’s coaching career, making him the first Lakers coach since Phil Jackson to lead the team to 50 wins in consecutive seasons.
“I don’t deserve to be mentioned alongside Phil or Pat [Riley] or any of those individuals,” Redick commented. “I have much left to achieve for sure. … I’ve maintained the same [coaching] staff for the most part over both years. I think we are just resilient and determined.”
They are nearing the conclusion of the regular season, having secured a playoff spot on Tuesday with six games left to play.
Two of those remaining games will be against the Oklahoma City Thunder, starting Thursday on the road.
Just as Cleveland defeated L.A. by 30 earlier in the season and this enhanced version of the Lakers sought revenge on Tuesday, the Lakers will have the opportunity to rectify two losses to the Thunder this season — including one by 29 points.
And while Doncic and the Lakers were on fire in March, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder posted a record of 14-1, with the reigning MVP averaging 30.7 points on 56.8% shooting and 6.6 assists for the month.
“Very exciting [matchup],” Lakers guard Austin Reaves noted. “Clearly they’re the defending champions. Competing at a high level, obviously one of the top teams in the league, if not the best team. And we have a chance to go into OKC and compete against them.”
