Riding Luka Doncic’s dominant stretch, the Los Angeles Lakers look to extend their winning streak to nine games when they visit the struggling Orlando Magic on Saturday night.
Los Angeles (45-25) has won 11 of its last 12 games and can make it nine consecutive victories for the first time since winning nine in a row from Dec. 28, 2019, to Jan. 13, 2020. Doncic, the league’s leading scorer (33.4 points per game), has compiled 100 points across the Lakers’ last two games and became the seventh player in franchise history to score 60 points in a game during the Lakers’ 134-126 victory on Thursday at Miami.
Doncic has paced the league in scoring for most of his first full season in Los Angeles, but the superstar’s production equates to wins with 12 games remaining in the regular season.
“I’ve just been trusting in my game,” Doncic said. “I know there will be some games that I don’t have it. You’re not always going to have great games. You’ve just got to trust in yourself. I’ve got all the support from my teammates, which helps me a lot. That explains a lot about the team that we are.”
Sparked by their three-week stretch, the Lakers have climbed to the No. 3 spot in the Western Conference. They lead the Minnesota Timberwolves and Houston Rockets by 2 1/2 games.
Second-year head coach JJ Redick has advocated for the appearance of Doncic’s name in MVP conversations — a market currently dominated by Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
“Because he complains to the refs? I don’t know,” said Redick on why Doncic isn’t in the MVP discussion.
Austin Reaves averages a career-high 23.5 points for the Lakers while LeBron James — fresh off a 19-point, 15-rebound, 10-assist triple double against the Heat — adds 21.3 points per contest.
Orlando (38-31) has dropped three straight games to fall perilously close to play-in territory. With the Magic’s 130-111 road loss to the Charlotte Hornets on Thursday, the team still holds the No. 6 slot of the crowded Eastern Conference standings — but they’re just a half-game ahead of Atlanta and Miami.
Head coach Jamahl Mosley was ejected in the first half of the loss, signifying Orlando’s frustration amidst the cold spell.
“I’ve got to be better for our group in that situation,” Mosley said. “I thought we went to the basket a couple times and didn’t get a couple calls. That’s what I was fighting for.”
A year after boasting the best scoring defense in the NBA (105.5 points per game allowed), Orlando has regressed. The Magic surrender 114.4 ppg and have given up at least 122 points in four of their last six outings.
“Our defensive mindset has got to kick in,” Mosley said. “Our physicality has to be there regardless of whether we’re getting calls or not. Our defense has got to set the tone from the beginning of the game.”
Paolo Banchero leads Orlando with 22.3 points and 8.5 rebounds per game while Desmond Bane scores 20.6 per night.
