Luka Says Lakers' Win vs. Jokic, Nuggets 'Gives Me A Lot of Confidence Moving Forward'

The unstoppable version of Luka Dončić has arrived for the Los Angeles Lakers.

While the five-time All-Star gradually worked his way into his new team's lineup as he dealt with a lingering calf injury in his first three games after the Dallas Mavericks traded him, he was fully dialed in Saturday while leading the Lakers to a 123-100 victory over Nikola Jokić and the Denver Nuggets.

He finished with 32 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and four steals while going 4-of-9 from deep and helping the Purple and Gold get a rare win in Denver.

"It's very tough to play here against that team," Dončić said, per ESPN's Dave McMenamin. "Just to win like that, it's an amazing win for us and gives me a lot of confidence moving forward."

Los Angeles had lost eight straight at Ball Arena without Dončić and hadn't defeated the Nuggets in the regular season since April 2022. Considering Denver also eliminated the Lakers in each of the last two playoffs, having Dončić to help change the tide in these head-to-heads could be monumental in the postseason.

Dončić didn't score more than 16 points in any of his first three games with Los Angeles. He also struggled with his shot and went 5-of-18 from the field in Wednesday's loss to the Charlotte Hornets.

Saturday was a different story.

"He was super dialed in," LeBron James said of his star teammate. "He was very locked in on what he wanted to do out here on the floor tonight. Once he started hitting those step-back 3s and got to yelling and barking, either at the fans or at us, or himself."

The timing of Dončić having more "confidence moving forward" with the Lakers is all the more notable because they play the Mavericks on Tuesday.

He will surely be motivated to put on a show against the team that traded him, and doing so will also help him build on Saturday's performance as his new squad looks to make a push down the stretch.

Los Angeles is tied for fourth place in the Western Conference with the Houston Rockets and will be in position to seize home-court advantage in the first round if he continues to play like he did in the win over the Nuggets.