Luka Doncic crushes Denver with a 38-point triple-double

The Lakers signed one of their most impressive victories of the season by overturning the Nuggets 115-107 in Denver. Down by 16 points in the third quarter, the Los Angeles team completely turned the situation around thanks to an exceptional performance by Luka Doncic.

The star point guard recorded his fifth triple-double of the season with 38 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists, demonstrating why he leads the fan vote for the All-Star Game. « They were playing excellent basketball, Murray was playing at an All-Star level… they have a lot of great players, » Doncic said. « We stayed together and we fought. »

PLAYER PROFILE

Luka DONCIC

Position(s): Point Guard

Height: 201 cm

Age: 26 years (28/02/1999)

Nationality:

Stats 2025-2026 / NBA

PTS

33.6

#1

REB

7.8

#34

AST

8.8

#5

A spectacular second-half comeback

Denver had started the game perfectly, leading 71-57 at halftime thanks notably to Jamal Murray‘s 26 points in the first half. The Canadian had even concluded the second quarter with a three-quarter court three-pointer at the buzzer.

But everything changed after halftime. Murray, who was aiming for his first All-Star Game selection, scored only 2 points in the second half, completely neutralized by the Lakers defense. Doncic took over in the third quarter, scoring or assisting on 11 consecutive Lakers points during a 13-0 run.

LeBron James then took over with 5 consecutive points to finish the third quarter, before delivering an assist to Drew Timme at the start of the final period to tie the game at 88-88. The Lakers definitively took control with a 16-0 run, holding Denver scoreless for over 6 minutes.

Marcus Smart was valuable with 11 of his 15 points during this decisive sequence, while the Nuggets missed 9 consecutive shots. In the end, Denver scored only 36 points in the second half, an insufficient performance against a reinvigorated Lakers team that dominated the boards 51-31 despite Deandre Ayton‘s eye injury.

This victory allows the Lakers (26-16) to continue their rise in the standings, taking advantage of Nikola Jokic‘s absence, injured with a knee issue since December 30. The Nuggets (29-15) see their winning streak end, hampered by numerous injuries in their roster.