A dominant Luka Dončić game leads Lakers to win over Nuggets

The Lakers beat the Nuggets behind a huge performance from Luka Dončić.

The Lakers grab their best win of the season, beating the Denver Nuggets 123-100 behind an incredible Luka Dončić performance.

Luka scored 16 of his 32 points in the first quarter. He also had seven assists, grabbed 10 rebounds, four steals and a block.

LeBron James scored 25 points to go with his nine rebounds, five assists, a steal and three blocks. Austin Reaves pitched in with 23 points, four rebounds, seven assists and a block.

Rui Hachimura ended with 21 points and four assists. Jordan Goodwin continued his great play off the bench with five points in the fourth quarter.

The Lakers went on a quick 6-0 run to start this game. Luka connected with LeBron for a dunk. Jaxson Hayes got a few easy looks as the team kept feeding him in the paint. Aaron Gordon was cooking early for the Nuggets with two 3-pointers.

At the 6:44 mark, Nikola Jokić had still not attempted a field goal.

As soon as both teams started making shots, the pace of the game sped up. At the first timeout, L.A. was up by one.

Austin connected with Luka who threw up a floater for his first points of the game. Luka and Dorian Finney-Smith both knocked down 3-pointers to extend L.A.'s lead to eight.

This was the best start for Luka in the handful of games he has been a Laker. He was all over the place, looking like the Luka we are used to seeing. Step back threes, layups, assists and more.

Jarred Vanderbilt’s impact was felt instantly as he came in and had two quick steals. Luka drained another 3-pointer. The Lakers were suffocating the Nuggets with their defense, making them fumble the ball and miss shots. But in true form, Los Angeles let Denver start inching closer.

At the end of the first, the purple and gold were up six.

Michael Porter Jr. scored first for Denver in the second quarter. Los Angeles’ first points came from free throws. Austin threw an alley-oop to LeBron for an emphatic dunk. The Lakers extended their lead to double digits.

Former Laker Russell Westbrook struggled offensively but did drain a 3-pointer.

Austin had an impressive block on Jamal Murray while he was attempting a 3-pointer. Denver once again crept back into it, making it a six-point game, then Austin drained a 3-pointer. LeBron and Dalton Knecht followed that up with two excellent blocks in a row.

The foul calls were all over the place for both teams. A lot of physicality between the teams as they were both playing hard. Although much of the momentum favored the Lakers, the Nuggets were still in the game.

Rui was up to nine first-half points after a dunk on the assist from LeBron. Luka stole the ball and passed it to LeBron for a layup, causing the Nuggets to call timeout.

LeBron knocked down his first three of the game with two minutes left until the end of the half.

Jamal drained two 3-pointers in a row. Luka once again found LeBron with an alley-oop for a dunk. He then drained another 3-pointer.

At halftime, Los Angeles was up nine. Luka was assessed a technical foul while walking off the court.

The second half began with what we are familiar with: Denver starting to play better and making it an even closer game. It had become a one-point game and the Lakers responded with six quick points. Rui then scored five straight points. Luka drained another step-back 3-pointer, making it a 10-0 run for L.A.

Luka was cooking, scoring a shot off the glass. Austin threw up a floater as the shot clock was expiring and nailed it. Aaron knocked down another 3-pointer for the Nuggets, and then Jamal also drained one himself. Rui responded with another 3-pointer, adding to his 18 points.

Three-pointers were flying all over the place with both teams making their attempts. Rui hit another from deep. Jamal answered with one and on the other end Austin answered back with another, pushing L.A.’s lead to double digits.

Austin was up to 20 points after a layup off the glass. Russell was cooking for the Nuggets, scoring 10 points in this quarter. At the end of the third, the Lakers were up nine.

Gabe Vincent’s defense helped the Nuggets turn the ball over to start the final frame. Julian Strawther got his fifth foul. Russell missed two free throws after being fouled by Vando. The Lakers turned the ball over for just the seventh time after they couldn’t get a shot off.

LeBron converted on a fastbreak layup, taking it to the basket himself. Rui went straight to the locker room, holding his side in pain. The Lakers were still in control of the game, despite the Nuggets being able to keep it close.

Gabe’s first three of the finally happened in this fourth. Jordan scored five points off the bench helping grow L.A.’s big lead. Austin drained another 3-pointer. The Lakers made Nikola’s night miserable, he was turning the ball over and just couldn’t get it going like he normally does.

With four minutes to go, Luka continued to give the Nuggets the business and Nuggets head coach Michael Malone emptied the bench.

Key Takeaways:

Who’s your daddy now, Denver?

The Lakers’ next game will be Dončić’s first game against his former team, the Dallas Mavericks, on Tuesday at 7:00 PM PT.

You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.