In fitting fashion, last year's scoring champ, Luka Dončić, dropped the first 50-piece of the 2026-27 season
with a 52-point, 10-assist, eight-rebound performance Sunday against the Utah Jazz. It was his fourth career game with at least 50 points, 10 assists and five rebounds to give him sole possession of the second-most such games in NBA history.
He was particularly sensational in crunch time as t he Los Angeles Lakers looked to secure an 18-point comeback
and win their third straight contest to open the year. Over the final seven minutes of the game, Dončić tallied 13 points and two assists. He directly contributed to 19 of the Lakers' last 24 points with plays like these:
"I think, for him in particular, when he's in the flow state, he gets into like showman mode," head coach JJ Redick said. "He's on stage performing and it's always really fun to watch,"
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Aside from a Collin Sexton triple midway through the fourth quarter, the only other non-Dončić player to score across the final seven minutes was Austin Reaves, whose six crunch-time points, including a late clock three to seal the win, helped keep Utah at bay.
Reaves himself was pretty excellent Sunday to maintain his sterling play out of the gates this season. He scored 29 points on 81.8% true shooting while chipping in four assists, two blocks and one steal. Despite his own superlatives, however, he sounds completely content to let Dončić cook when the Slovenian is in the sort of groove he found against the Jazz.
"Once he gets in the mode he gets in, it's just give him the ball and he's either going to put the ball in basket or he's going to make the right [play]," Reaves said. "I just happened to be open and he threw it to me, was open, shot it with confidence and made it.
"He's always in showman mode. I think he's always ready to get a bucket. Knowing that as a teammate, you just let him do him and we're going to benefit from it as a team."
You can follow Jackson on Twitter at
@jackfrank_jjf
.
