Luka Doncic scores 49 to lead Lakers to a rout of Timberwolves

Luka Doncic is a savant.

He proved yet again to be distinguished in his field of expertise and the Lakers are reaping the rewards of Doncic’s brilliance.

Doncic was dynamic in scoring 49 points, coming up two assists short of a triple-double with 11 rebounds and eight assists in leading the Lakers past the Minnesota Timberwolves 128-110 Friday night at Crypto.com Arena.

“I think the paint was more closed, so that’s how I tried to control the game. And I think I managed that good today,” Doncic said.

Doncic became the first player in Lakers history to open the season with back-to-back 40-plus point games and fourth in NBA history to accomplish that feat, joining Michael Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain and Anthony Davis.

Doncic has the most points in Lakers history in the first two games with 92 points, surpassing the 81 points Hall of Famer Jerry West scored in back-to-back games to open the 1969-70 season. He surpassed Michael Jordan (91 points) for the fourth-most points scored in the first two games of a season in NBA history.

Doncic capped his show by drilling a three-pointer that gave the Lakers a 19-point lead, his showmanship including pursing of his lips while doing a shimmy to the adoring crowd. Then he bounced off the court when the reeling Timberwolves called a timeout with eight minutes and six seconds left in the game.

“It’s honestly because I don’t know what to do at those moments,” Doncic, laughing, said about his little move. “I said that before. I do some stupid thing and I don’t know what to do. That just came out. It’s got to be better. I got to work on it.”

He had a chance to score 50 points, but Doncic missed the first of two free throws with 3:05 left. He departed the game with 3:01 left to a standing ovation.

“There was some discussion around whether or not I’m trying to get the guy 50, and yeah, I’d already given him three chances,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “I gave him a fourth chance. He gets fouled and then he blows that too. He was awesome.”

When Redick took Doncic out of the game after his star guard had shot 14 for 23 from the field, five for 12 from three-point range and 16 for 19 from the free-throw line, the two had a funny exchange.

“We were talking and I said, ‘I’ve given you three chances. You passed up a layup. Gabe [Vincent] had a wide-open three. Love the good to great [shot attempt]. We don’t need to go from good to great to great. Just take the shot,’” Redick said, smiling.

Doncic continued his exceptional play to open the season from the start Friday, scoring from all over the court, doing whatever he wanted against Minnesota defenders, working himself into exhaustion that eventually had him begging to come out after dropping 23 points on the Timberwolves in the first quarter.

Doncic tied Kobe Bryant and Kyle Kuzma for the most points in a first quarter in Lakers history since the 1996-97 season.

It was the 12th time in Doncic’s career in which he had scored 20-plus points in an opening quarter.

Doncic finished the first half with 32 points, becoming the fourth Laker since the 1996-97 season to record multiple games with 30-plus points in a half. He joined Bryant, LeBron James and Shaquille O’Neal.

When Doncic started getting help from his teammates in the second quarter while he was on the bench resting, the Lakers turned an 11-point, first-half deficit into a 68-63 lead by halftime.

“Yeah, at this point, for me, you know, I’ve been playing against Luka since he was 16, actually,” said Marcus Smart, who scored just three points but had a plus-24 rating, of Doncic. “I’ve been on the other side of those. I’m not surprised at all now. But it does feel good to be on the side of watching it instead of being on the side of it that he’s doing it to.

“So it’s still amazing. He comes in every day working and his shows. He’s great at what he does and he’s only going to continue to get better.”

Etc.

Lakers backup center Jaxson Hayes didn’t play against the Timberwolves because of left knee soreness.