TITLE: Doncic caps 600-point month as Lakers finish March 15-2, LeBron sets wins record
SLUG: doncic-600-point-march-lakers-15-2
CONTENT:
Luka Doncic closed out a torrid March with 42 points and 12 assists in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 127-113 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena, pushing his monthlong total to exactly 600 points.
According to the Lakers, the 27-year-old guard is the first player to reach 600 points in March since Michael Jordan did it in 1987 and only the 10th player ever to post 600 in any calendar month. The performance marked his third consecutive 40-point outing.
“I think Luka has had as good of a month as anybody I can remember in the modern NBA,” head coach JJ Redick said after the game.
Los Angeles went 15-2 over the span, its best single-month record since 2009. “If you don’t win, it doesn’t really mean anything,” Doncic said. “The run we’ve been on, it means a lot.”
Milestones for LeBron and Redick
The win was the 1,229th of LeBron James’ career—regular season and playoffs combined—moving him past Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most in league history. It also gave Redick his 100th victory as a head coach, making him the first Lakers coach since Phil Jackson to post back-to-back 50-win seasons.
“Don’t deserve to be mentioned with Phil or Pat (Riley) or any of those guys,” Redick said. “I’ve got a lot left to accomplish for sure.”
Additional notes
• Doncic surpassed 15,000 career points during the game.
• Donovan Mitchell was limited to 10 points on 4-for-10 shooting for Cleveland.
• The Lakers secured a playoff berth with six regular-season games remaining.
Showdown with Oklahoma City ahead
Two of Los Angeles’ final six games are against the Oklahoma City Thunder, beginning Thursday on the road. The Lakers have dropped both meetings with the defending champions this season, including a 29-point defeat.
Oklahoma City went 14-1 in March, led by reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who averaged 30.7 points on 56.8% shooting and 6.6 assists. “Very exciting matchup,” Lakers guard Austin Reaves said. “We have an opportunity to go into OKC and battle them.”
The Lakers enter April at 50-23, while the Cavaliers fell to 42-31.
Source: ESPN
