Luka Doncic returns to lineup to lift Lakers, sink Suns

Doncic scored 33 points, dished out eight assists and grabbed 11 rebounds as the Lakers broke a four-game losing streak with a 107-96 win over the Suns. 

With starters LeBron James and Rui Hachimura still on the shelf, Doncic and Austin Reaves (28 points) powered the Lakers to the win, while their defense held the star-laden Suns under 100 points.

The Lakers' new superstar has seemingly had an extra gear for the Suns ever since the 2022 conference semifinals, when Doncic's Dallas Mavericks came back to beat the Suns in seven games. 

His feud with Booker was launched in Game 5 of that series, when Booker laid on the ground after a foul and called it "The Luka Special."

Doncic responded in Game 7, scoring 27 points in the first half — the same number of points scored by Phoenix's entire team. In a truly devastating moment for Booker, he got meme'd with a photo of Doncic staring at him with a 30-point lead.

In a game from May 2023, Booker and Doncic had a confrontation after Doncic missed a game-tying shot and Booker taunted him.

The rivalry with Booker seems to fuel Doncic. In the 2022 series, he averaged 32.6 points, 9.9 rebounds and seven assists. Excluding a January 2023 game where Doncic sprained his ankle in the opening minutes, the All-NBA guard has averaged 36.7 points against the Suns.

Sunday, Booker shot 6-for-17 for 19 points, missing all three of his three-point attempts. As a team, Phoenix was 9-for-41 from deep, a troubling result for a team built around three elite shooters in Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal (2-for-12 combined from three-point range). Doncic and Reaves combined for eight threes, just one fewer than the Suns' entire team.

Time is running out for the Suns to salvage their season. Friday's game against the Cleveland Cavaliers is the first of 10 straight games against many of the NBA's elite teams, who have a combined winning percentage of .676.

They had a chance to steal a win against a short-handed Lakers team. Doncic refused to let it happen.