Doncic Scores 42 as the Lakers Run Past the Heat 138-117 to Close Florida's NBA Monday
Miami kept pace for a half in a shootout — 79-72 at the break, both teams 10-of-20 from three. Then Luka Doncic took the third quarter apart, and the Lakers closed out a 138-117 win at Crypto.com Arena, their sixth in eight games, on the second night of a back-to-back.
LOS ANGELES — Florida's NBA Monday ended the way it threatened to all night: with Luka Doncic conducting. Doncic scored 42 points as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Miami Heat 138-117 on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena, closing out the Florida slate the Orlando Magic opened with their own loss in the early game. The Lakers, playing the second night of a back-to-back after beating Toronto on Sunday, improved to 6-2 — and looked nothing like the tired team.
For a half, it was a track meet Miami could run in. Doncic, who leads the NBA in first-quarter scoring, put up 16 in the first quarter, but the Heat's own shooting kept them close: both teams shot 10-of-20 from three and scored more than 70 points in the half, and Los Angeles led just 79-72 at the break. The third quarter broke it open. Doncic opened with a three-point play and a triple, found Walker Kessler for a dunk, connected from deep again to stretch the lead to 20, and the Lakers carried a 111-93 lead into the fourth.
This time, Los Angeles even held its own with Doncic resting to start the fourth — a stretch that has troubled the Lakers in recent games — before he returned to finish his fourth 40-point game in his last five outings. The Lakers head to Sacramento on Wednesday and host Portland on Friday. For the Heat, the Florida NBA Monday goes in the book as a sweep the wrong way: Orlando's nine-point third quarter in the early game, and a third quarter in Los Angeles that Doncic simply owned.
