Luka Doncic on fire since Max Kellerman's criticism

Two weeks ago, Max Kellerman severely criticized Luka Doncic on his podcast and called Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics a better player. Since then, Doncic has been on fire and the Los Angeles Lakers have gone 6-1.

Kellerman said, among other things, that if Doncic ever got a statute, it would depict him "complaining to the refs." He doubled down on the "Bill Simmons Podcast" days later, saying Doncic's development had been "stunted." Now the Lakers are a half-game out of third place and Doncic is rolling.

Luka Doncic is contributing to winning

Since getting flamed by Kellerman, who hosts a podcast with Rich Paul, the agent of Lakers teammate LeBron James, Doncic is second in the NBA in scoring. He was first before Bam Adebayo's shocking 83-point game Tuesday night. His team has gone 6-1, outscoring opponents by an average of 13 points and shutting down the New York Knicks and Minnesota Timberwolves defensively.

Since Feb. 27, the date of Kellerman's second podcast, Doncic is averaging 31.1 points, 8.4 rebounds and 7.3 assists, shooting 49.7 percent from the floor and 38 percent from three-point range. He's done it without James, who has been out with injury during the Lakers' current three-game winning streak.

Tuesday, Doncic had a 31-point triple-double in a 14-point win over the Wolves, while teammate Austin Reaves scored 31 as well. Sunday, the Lakers took a commanding lead over the Knicks after three quarters as Doncic scored 35 and Reaves had 25, while holding the Knicks under 100 points. It's two impressive victories over teams considered title contenders.