• After Luka Doncic dropped 49 points in the Lakers’ 128-110 win over the Timberwolves, shattering Jerry West’s 56-year franchise record with 92 points through two games, Austin Reaves was asked if his teammate could average 40 this season.
• Reaves gave an emphatic “Yes” when asked if Doncic could both average 40 points and help the team win, adding “He’s so good, it’s weird” about the Slovenian superstar’s dominance.
• The Lakers’ offense looked dramatically different in their second game compared to Tuesday’s season-opening loss to the Golden State Warriors, with improved shooting and fewer turnovers powering the revenge victory.

LOS ANGELES (TDR) — Austin Reaves didn’t hesitate when asked if Luka Doncic could average 40 points per game this season. The answer? A flat-out “Yes.”

After Doncic scored 49 points in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 128-110 demolition of the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night — shattering Jerry West’s 56-year franchise record of 81 points scored through the first two games of a season — his teammate was asked a follow-up question. Could Doncic, who has scored 92 points this season, average 40 and help the team win?

“Yes,” Reaves told ESPN. “He’s so good, it’s weird.”

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It was uncanny to see the effectiveness of the Doncic-led Lakers offense in its second game compared with Tuesday’s 119-109 season-opening loss to the Golden State Warriors.

Lakers offense clicks in revenge game

The transformation was stunning. The Lakers shot 59.2% from the field Friday compared to 54.5% in the opener, and were drastically better from deep, hitting 41.4% of their threes after managing just 25% against the Warriors. They also committed just 12 turnovers compared to 19 in the opener.

And Doncic was the constant throughout, becoming the first player in Lakers history with consecutive 40-point games to start a season and just the fourth in NBA history, joining Anthony Davis, Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain.

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The Slovenian sensation added 11 rebounds and eight assists while going 14-for-23 from the floor with five 3-pointers. He also hit 16 of his 19 free throws but fell just short of his eighth career 50-point game after missing a late free throw and then getting subbed out.

Reaves tempers praise with playful jab

Reaves didn’t want to give too much credit to his superstar teammate without having a little fun first. “You’ve seen the dunk; it wasn’t very explosive,” Reaves joked about a late-game slam attempt. “I would claim it as a dunk, but I’m not very athletic.”

Then he got serious again. “He’s obviously one of the best players in the league. He’s been that since he got into the league. So, the stuff that he does isn’t a surprise to anybody. It’s crazy because you look at the numbers he’s putting up, but he does it in a way where everybody’s involved. He’s such a good passer and that’s enough compliments for him.”

Reaves backed up his words with his own stellar performance, finishing with 25 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds. Through two games, he’s averaging 25.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 10.0 assists on 58.1% shooting — All-Star-level production.

Doncic dominates without LeBron

With LeBron James sidelined until at least mid-November with sciatica, Doncic has shouldered the offensive load brilliantly. He exploded for 23 points in the first quarter alone — matching Kobe Bryant and Kyle Kuzma for the most first-quarter points in Lakers history over the past 30 years.

“He, of course, dominates the whole game so easily,” Rui Hachimura said after dropping 23 points on 10-of-13 shooting. “And it’s not some random team we played against. They’re a Western Conference finals team. So this is crazy.”

Lakers coach JJ Redick admitted he tried to get Doncic to the 50-point mark in the fourth quarter. “I’m trying to get the guy 50, and yeah, I’d already given him three chances,” Redick said. “I gave a fourth chance. He gets fouled, and then he blows that too…I wanted him to get 50 tonight, though.”

Third quarter key to breakthrough

The Lakers made a concerted effort to fix their third-quarter woes after Golden State outscored them 35-25 to break open Tuesday’s game. Several players left the halftime locker room early Friday to get warmup shots while the halftime entertainment was still performing.

The strategy worked. Los Angeles won the third 40-31 and dominated the middle two quarters 72-54 overall against the Timberwolves, who eliminated them from the playoffs last season.

“I think for the first time in Lakers history, the other team called the first timeout in the third quarter,” Redick quipped. “Had a nice ‘all right, all right’ with the group. ‘All right, group, we did it!'”

Anthony Edwards led the Timberwolves with 31 points, while Julius Randle added 26. But Minnesota couldn’t slow down the Lakers juggernaut, with Deandre Ayton chipping in 15 points and eight rebounds off the bench.

“I just want to forget about last season,” Doncic said about exorcising the playoff demons. “I was trying to move on. I don’t really think about that first-round series.”

If Luka Doncic maintains his 46-point-per-game average for just half the season, would that be enough to win MVP even if the Lakers struggle to make the playoffs, or does team success still matter most for the award?

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