The Los Angeles Lakers continued their late-season streak by defeating the Indiana Pacers 137-130 on Wednesday night behind another stellar performance from Luka Doncic. The Slovenian star finished with 43 points, seven assists and six rebounds, his league-leading 14th 40-point game of the season.
Setting the pace early, Doncic scored 21 points in the first quarter, his eighth instance of a 20-point span this season, approaching Stephen Curry's 2015–16 record of 11. He reached 11 consecutive 30-point games, equaling the longest streak in the last 20 years.
The 27-year-old has been historically productive during this period, averaging 40.7 points on the Lakers' six-game road trip, the first player to average 40 over that span since Michael Jordan in 1986-87. He currently leads the NBA in scoring with 33.6 points per game.
Doncic shot 15 of 30 from the field and 9 of 10 from the free-throw line, including five 40-point games in his last 11 outings.
Los Angeles (47-26) took control of the game early and went on a 10-0 run to lead 45-28 after one quarter. They led by 29 points and entered the fourth quarter ahead 105–85 before Indiana (16–57) made a late push to cut the margin to six in the final minute.
LeBron James contributed 23 points, nine rebounds and nine assists, while Austin Reaves finished with 25 points and eight assists. Jackson Hayes recorded his first double-double of the season with 21 points and 10 rebounds.
Playing without Deandre Ayton, Rui Hachimura and Marcus Smart, the Lakers finished the road trip 5-1 and have now won 13 of their last 15 games. They sit in third place in the Western Conference with nine games remaining and next host the Brooklyn Nets on Friday night.
