Luka Doncic Scores 42 And Ties Jerry West On The Los Angeles Lakers’ 40-Point Games List

Doncic celebrating with his Lakers team© Instagram/@lukadoncic

Luka Doncic has joined Jerry West in the Lakers record books. On Monday night, he scored 42 points in a 138-117 win over the Miami Heat at Crypto.com Arena, his 66th game with 40 or more points in a Lakers uniform. That ties West for the most in franchise history. Doncic also added 13 assists and seven rebounds as the Lakers moved to 6-2. It was his fifth straight game with at least 37 points, and the Heat had no answer.

Doncic matches West and adds new records

Doncic shot 14 for 24 and made six of his 15 threes for his fourth 40-point game of the season. Across his last five games he is averaging 43.4 points, and he leads the league at 37.7 a game. The night also put him in the NBA record books as the player with the most games of at least 40 points, 10 assists and five threes. Only one other player since 1960-61 has reached 250 points, 50 rebounds and 50 assists in the first seven games of a season, and that is Doncic himself.

As usual, he came out fast. A first quarter of 16 points, five assists and four rebounds led to 24 by halftime, and nine more in the first four and a half minutes after the break stretched the lead to 93-74. In his five-game run, he has hit 34 threes while shooting 53.1 per cent overall.

Teammates struggle to explain it. “It just feels like almost anything he shoots is going to go in,” said Quentin Grimes. Coach JJ Redick described it as “a supernova, but it also feels normal.”

How the Lakers beat the Heat

Miami sent two or three defenders at Doncic again and again, and the Lakers made them pay for it. “I think we moved the ball great,” Doncic said. Los Angeles shot 57 per cent, including 19 for 43 from three, and handed out 39 assists, the most in a game since Redick took over in 2024.

Austin Reaves added 27 points on 10-for-15 shooting, while Walker Kessler finished with 15 points and 15 rebounds for his third straight double-double. For the Heat, Giannis Antetokounmpo put up 30 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists, though seven turnovers hurt, with Klay Thompson scoring 19 and Bam Adebayo adding 16.

Ziaire Williams came back after missing three games with a foot injury, though Jake LaRavia kept the starting spot. The Heat, now 2-5, open a West Coast trip at the Clippers on Wednesday, the same night the Lakers visit Sacramento.