Luka Doncic had a 51-point outburst tonight against the Bulls in an emphatic 142-130 win for the Lakers. It marked the first time Doncic crossed the 50-point landmark in the purple and gold jersey.
After the game, Doncic spoke to the media and revealed that he knew he was going to have a special night the moment Matas Buzelis began trash-talking to him in the second quarter.
“It feels special, obviously, haven’t had a 50-point game all year, so it feels special. In the second quarter, I kind of felt it; somebody started talking to me, and it woke me up,” said the Lakers’ superstar. “I was surprised, I was shocked.”
The Slovenian star revealed it was Buzelis but refused to reveal what he said, joking that he would have gotten a technical foul if he had said that.
“But really, in these games, sometimes you go in easy, we went easy in the first quarter, so they woke me up.”
Luka after scoring over Matas Buzelis. 🤣💀
(h/t @MindOfBron)
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) March 13, 2026
“I was surprised, I didn’t say anything,” said Doncic as he clarified that he was shocked Buzelis began the trash-talk when he’s usually the one doing it.
Buzelis started chirping Luka so he proceeded to go on a crazy stretch 👀😂 https://t.co/EcqBADqQxj pic.twitter.com/tgredCDLnA
— Lakers All Day Everyday (@LADEig) March 13, 2026
“Not very nice,” concluded Doncic with a grin. Several fans of the Lakers observed Doncic and Buzelis exchanging words during the game. Buzelis began trash-talking at the beginning of the second quarter, and Doncic proceeded to drop 12 points on him in that quarter alone.
Luka has words for Matas Buzelis after the stepback trey 🗣
Doncic is one technical away from an automatic suspension.pic.twitter.com/cMpQDODafo
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) March 13, 2026
Doncic clearly wanted to avoid trouble during the game, as he is one technical foul away from facing an automatic suspension for his 16th technical foul of the season.
The Lakers’ superstar finished the game one assist shy of a triple-double. He ended up with 51 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists, while shooting 17-31 from the field (54.8 FG%) and 9-14 from beyond the arc (64.3 3P%).
Matas Buzelis, on the other hand, had 22 points, six rebounds, and one assist while going 7-19 from the field (36.8 FG%) and 4-11 from beyond the arc (36.4 3P%).
JJ Redick, the Lakers’ head coach, also spoke to the media after the game and highlighted how the media has been completely ignoring how well Doncic has been playing recently and only focusing on his shortcomings.
“It’s a unique trait; it’s not just the fact that he responds to rough play or trash-talk, but it’s that he can channel it into everything else that he’s done. He can channel it into his defensive rebounding, his assists, and his steals. Just another game where he has high assists with low turnovers.”
“He’s playing as well as anybody in the NBA right now. And I think that’s probably not being talked about enough, so I’m going to talk about it,” said Redick near the end of his press conference.
Doncic also joked that he’s been ready for such moments ever since February 2001, when he was a one-year-old. The Lakers have improved to 41-25 following this win and are the third seed in the Western Conference, riding a four-game winning streak currently.
With just 16 games left in the season, such performances are extreme confidence boosters going into the postseason. If I were a fan of the Lakers, I would certainly grab my popcorn in anticipation of the Luka Magic I’m about to witness in the final stretch of the season.
