{"id":669037,"date":"2026-03-20T16:23:17","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T16:23:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/669037\/"},"modified":"2026-03-20T16:23:17","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T16:23:17","slug":"lakers-luka-doncics-scored-100-points-in-25-hours","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/669037\/","title":{"rendered":"Lakers\u2019 Luka Doncic\u2019s scored 100 points in 25 hours\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

MIAMI \u2014 As Luka Doncic sat down on the Lakers\u2019 bench<\/a> with 37.8 seconds left in the team\u2019s eventual win over the Heat on Thursday night<\/a>, with Doncic in the midst of his best scoring performance of his brief Lakers tenure, he had a brief conversation with starting center Deandre Ayton before taking a pause.<\/p>\n

Sitting at 59 points at the time in what became a 60-point performance, his first with the Lakers and third of his career, Doncic soaked in the same environment inside of Kaseya Center that was chanting \u201cM-V-P\u201d for him just a couple of minutes ago<\/a> as the Lakers and Heat awaited the decision of Miami\u2019s challenge on a defensive foul called against Norman Powell (the challenge was unsuccessful).\u00a0<\/p>\n

Another pause followed, with Doncic wrapping a white towel across his torso while looking down to his left side. He looked back up and wiped his face with the towel before looking back down and letting out an exhale.<\/p>\n

Luka Doncic scored 100 points in 25 hours. NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n

He scored 60 versus Miami Thursday night. NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n

What followed was a feeling that many of Doncic\u2019s teammates, coaches and the rest of the Lakers\u2019 traveling party could relate to.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m tired as s\u2014,\u201d Doncic mouthed to himself before looking back up during a moment that was captured on the game\u2019s broadcast.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That moment captured the duality of Doncic and the Lakers\u2019 previous 25 hours.<\/p>\n

Because for most of Thursday, Doncic didn\u2019t look like a man battling fatigue as he put on shotmaking masterclass that only the elite of the elite players in league history could: 18-of-30 shooting from the field, 9 of 17 on 3-pointers and 15 of 19 on free throws, with his final make at the charity stripe with 15 seconds left giving Doncic his 60th point to send the Lakers\u2019 bench into a frenzy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a superhero performance,\u201d coach JJ Redick said. \u201cHe made big shots, he made tough shots. Made a lot of right reads. When he gets it going like that, it\u2019s\u2026some of it is you just kind of like \u2018let him go.\u2019 And his teammates felt that, they saw that. The shotmaking was unreal.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the circumstances Doncic and the Lakers faced entering Thursday weren\u2019t the ones most would associate with a 60-point game.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a superhero performance,\u201d coach JJ Redick said. \u201cHe made big shots, he made tough shots. Made a lot of right reads.\u201d Isabella Frias-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

No matter how tired, the Lakers will continue to go as far as Doncic takes them.\u00a0 Isabella Frias-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

The Lakers were\u2019t too far removed from their Wednesday night road win over the Rockets in Houston<\/a>, with the game ending a little past 11 p.m. Central Time.<\/p>\n

They had little time to waste.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Or rest.\u00a0<\/p>\n

They packed up their traveling party for a two-plus hour flight to Miami that involved losing an hour on the clock, arriving at their South Florida hotel just a little after 5 a.m. Eastern Time with a matchup against the team waiting for them in about 15 hours.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And then came the uncertainty about who\u2019d be available, with the Lakers releasing a status report Thursday afternoon saying that Doncic, LeBron James and Austin Reaves were questionable for the second night of the back-to-back set before upgrading the star trio to available an hour before tipoff.<\/p>\n

\u201cDefinitely a mental, a mental and physical toll,\u201d James said. \u201cObviously, we got in at the time we got in, I don\u2019t think anybody got much sleep. Just wanted to see how the body felt, how the mind felt once we all kind of got going. And decided to give it a go. We all decided to give it a go. That\u2019s a big, gritty win for us on the road especially under [those] circumstances.\u201d<\/p>\n

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And the reasoning for why the Lakers star trip played was simple.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cTo win,\u201d Reaves said. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to win.\u201d<\/p>\n

And while he hasn\u2019t done it alone, Doncic has been the biggest catalyst for the Lakers\u2019 season-best eight-game winning streak, which has vaulted them to third place in the Western Conference, and two games ahead of the No. 4 Timberwolves entering Friday.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe would not be anywhere near the position we\u2019re in without him having the season that he\u2019s having,\u201d Redick said. \u201cHe\u2019s dominating right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

And the 25 hours between the start of Wednesday\u2019s win over the Rockets and Thursday\u2019s win over the Heat encapsulates the kind of roll Doncic is on.\u00a0<\/p>\n

With 40 points against the Rockets on Wednesday and 60 against the Heat, Doncic scored 100 points in 25 hours across two games \u2013 seven away from the most points he\u2019s scored in consecutive games (107) and just one away from the most he\u2019s scored in a back-to-back set (101).\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, obviously you\u2019re tired, but I think it was more mentally,\u201d Doncic said. \u201cLike JJ said before the game, \u2018It\u2019s a mental game.\u2019 And that\u2019s what it was. You just got to say to yourself you\u2019re not tired and keep going.\u201d<\/p>\n

And no matter how tired, the Lakers will continue to go as far as Doncic takes them<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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