Luka Doncic reaches several milestones in latest outburst

Doncic finished with 31 points, nine rebounds and seven assists — his 155th career 30/5/5 game, the most by any player in the 2020s. Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo is a distant second on the list, with 120 games of 30/5/5 since the turn of the decade.  

The game also marked Doncic's eighth 30-point game as a Laker in just 16 games, the most by any Lakers guard since 2013. 

That's not all. After struggling with the deep ball in his first month as a Laker, Doncic has regained his stroke. With four made threes on Thursday, Doncic increased his tally to 53 makes in 16 starts, becoming the fastest to 50 threes in franchise history. 

Doncic's Lakers (43-25) clinched a crucial tiebreaker over the Nuggets (44-26) and moved into the third seed in the tightly bundled West.

Amid their hot stretch, Doncic is unwilling to get carried away. After the game, he said the Lakers' regular-season seeding is meaningless given the tough competition that awaits them in the playoffs. 

"I don't think so," Doncic told "SC with SVP" on the Lakers' final seed. "We're taking it game by game. It's important we go game by game. Because if you look too much into the future, you may forget about the next game. But, obviously, we know it's very tight [seeding race] and we have to try and win every game."

The final seedings could ultimately decide whether the Lakers go home early or make a deep postseason run. If the season were to end today, they would face the Warriors in the first round.