Luka Doncic became just the fourth player in NBA history to start a season with back-to-back 40-point games, leading the Los Angeles Lakers to victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Numbers turned into results for Luka Doncic and the Los Angeles Lakers, firing 49 points en route to a 128-110 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Crypto.com Arena on Saturday (PH time).
Doncic, who scored 43 points in a loss to Golden State in the opening game of their 2025-26 NBA season, was able to tow his team to victory this time around, as he also flirted with the triple-double by adding 11 rebounds and eight assists to his stat line.
Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura also combined for 48 markers to build a strong support system for Doncic, who was hot from the get go.
Doncic already had 23 points by the first quarter, which tied Kobe Bryant and Kyle Kuzma for most points in an opening quarter in Lakers history since the 1996-97 season.
All in all, Luka's 92 points are the most in Lakers history in the first two games of the season, and Doncic is the fourth player in NBA history to start with back-to-back 40-point games. Finally, 49 points is now Luka's career-high with the Lakers.
The Lakers pulled away in the third quarter, dropping 40 points to turn a five-point halftime lead into a 14-point spread.
The Wolves, meanwhile, saw Anthony Edwards finish with 31 points, four rebounds, five assists, and one block in a losing effort.
The Lakers and the Wolves are both 1-1 through two games for the year.
Elsewhere, the Portland Trailblazers pulled away in the second half against the Golden State Warriors, 139-119.
Deni Avdija paced Portland in the win with 26 points, five rebounds, and six assists.
In the other games, the New York Knicks kept the Boston Celtics winless thanks to Karl-Anthony Towns’ double-double, 105-95.
Towns tallied 26 points, 13 rebounds in the victory that improved New York to 2-0.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, for his part, had a monster performance of 31 points, 20 rebounds, and seven assists for a 122-116 win for the Milwaukee Bucks against the Toronto Raptors.
The Atlanta Hawks also beat the Orlando Magic, 111-107.
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Luisa Morales is a sports writer with a special interest in promoting women’s sports.
Her coverage highlights include the UAAP, PVL, Southeast Asian Games, and the FIBA World Cup. She also follows Alex Eala, the Philippine women’s national football team, and mixed martial arts.