It wasn’t always pretty.
And the defense left a lot to be desired.
But the Lakers’ 142-130 win over the Bulls on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena will be memorable for one reason: Luka Doncic’s first 50-point game with the Lakers.
Doncic led the Lakers with 51 points on 17-of-31 shooting (9 of 14 on 3s), scoring his 50th and 51st points at the free throw line with “M-V-P” being chanted throughout the Lakers’ home arena late in the fourth quarter.
Austin Reaves added 30 points, seven assists and five rebounds during a night the Lakers’ offense was firing on all cylinders.
The Lakers shot 55.6% from the field, including 47.2% on 3s (17 of 36).
Deandre Ayton recorded a 23 point-10 rebound double-double to continue his strong run of play.
LeBron James had 18 points, seven rebounds and seven assists after returning from a three-game absence.
Rui Hachimura also scored 15 points, with all of the Lakers starters scoring at least 15 points.
What it means
The Lakers moved back up to third in the Western Conference standings with Thursday’s victory.
They’re also on a four-game winning streak, their longest run of consecutive wins since late November.
They have a 41-25 record.
Turning point
When Ayton grabbed an offensive rebound at the 1:09 mark in the second quarter that led to the Rui Hachimura free-throw line jumper to tie the game at 62 apiece.
That started a 7-0 run the Lakers closed the first half with, flowing into a 5-0 run to start the third quarter to put the Lakers up 72-62.
The Lakers led by as many as 22 points in the third.
The Bulls cut their deficit to nine multiple times, but the Lakers led for the remainder of the game.
MVP: Luka Doncic
This could’ve been Ayton because of the way he controlled the interior offeisvely early in the game, giving the Lakers a boost when they needed it.
But Doncic gets the nod after having his highest scoring game as a Laker.
Doncic also had 10 rebounds and nine assists for a near 50-point triple-double.
Stat of the game: 6
That was the number of offensive rebounds Ayton grabbed against the Bulls, which tied a season high.
Ayton also had six offensive rebounds in the Dec. 14 win over the Suns.
His presence on the offensive glass helped the Lakers outscore the Bulls 30-16 in second-chance points.
Up next
The Lakers will close out their five-game homestand, which they’re undefeated on so far, against the Nuggets on Saturday.
They hope to have Marcus Smart back in the lineup for that matchup after he was sidelined on Thursday because of a hip contusion.
