Feb 28, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) reacts after a play during the second quarter against the LA Clippers at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jason Parkhurst-Imagn Images Jason Parkhurst-Imagn Images

Luka Doncic's Honest Statement After Lakers-Clippers

Originally posted on Los Angeles Clippers on SI
By Farbod Esnaashari | Last updated Mar 1, 2025 1:19 PM ET

On Friday night, Luka Doncic played his first game ever against his rival LA Clippers, but as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Clippers are the team that's given Doncic the most losses in his NBA career, but that wasn't the case on Friday night. Doncic put up 31 points, 5 assists, 2 rebounds, and 3 steals on 41/33/91 shooting from the field.

After the game, Doncic spoke about the resilience of his new team, beating the Clippers while not having two starters.

Luka Doncic vs Clippers:

31 PTS
5 AST
4 STL
3 3P

Only Giannis has more 30-point games since Luka was drafted. pic.twitter.com/EU7Iz49ntB
— StatMuse (@statmuse) March 1, 2025

“ Yeah, I think it shows, especially today, coming into the back-to-back without two of the starters. It's a tough game to play and to win, and I think we showed our character today," Doncic said. "I would just say that second group with Bron (LeBron James), they gave us life. He inspired us to play faster, to play harder, so thanks to them we won the game."

Luka Doncic (31 points, 5 assists, and 3 steals) speaks to the media on his birthday after the Lakers' victory over the Clippers.

Get closer to the action on Spectrum SportsNet+ with the NBA app, on us! : https://t.co/k8Sa1tKN6U pic.twitter.com/MqT4HQbjnE
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) March 1, 2025

The bench unit absolutely saved the day when it came to Friday night's battle between the Lakers and Clippers. The Clippers' bench only put up 14 points on 4/17 shooting from the field, while the Lakers' bench put up 29 points on 11/24 shooting from the field.

“Yeah, like I said before, they gave us life to this game," Doncic said. "They pushed it to be better, and when the second group with Bron (LeBron James) came out, they pushed the ball, they defended. They showed us how we need to play. Without them, we don't win this game tonight. ”

The LA Clippers are slumping, and it doesn't get any easier when they face off against the Lakers again on Sunday.

This article first appeared on Los Angeles Clippers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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