Luka Doncic keeps putting up video-game numbers, and the Los Angeles Lakers keep leaning on him like there’s no tomorrow.
That was the story again Sunday night at Crypto.com Arena, where Doncic delivered 45 points, 15 rebounds, six assists, five steals and one block in a 131-125 win over the Toronto Raptors. He shot 12-23 from the field and looked every bit like the engine carrying the Lakers through the early part of the season. The problem is what happens when he sits.
The numbers from the last two games make the issue impossible to ignore. Against the Raptors, the Lakers were +27 in Doncic’s 35 minutes and -21 in the 13 minutes he was off the floor. Two nights earlier against the Golden State Warriors, they were +9 with him on the court and -26 without him.
Put those stretches together, and the Lakers outscored the Raptors and Warriors by 36 points in the 72 minutes Doncic played. In the 24 minutes he didn’t, they were outscored by 47. That’s the kind of split that can bury a team fast.
The Warriors game showed the problem in sharp relief. Doncic came out blazing with 21 points in the first quarter, helping the Lakers build a 38-15 lead going into the second.
Once he went to the bench, the cushion started disappearing. By the time he returned with 6:40 left in the second, the lead was down to 44-33.
Golden State kept pushing, tied the game at 53 by halftime, and never let the Lakers settle back in. Doncic added 11 more points in the third, but the Warriors took that quarter 32-27 and then closed with a 27-15 fourth to roll to a 112-95 win.
Doncic finished that one with 37 points, seven rebounds, five assists, one steal and two blocks on 12-27 shooting. He wasn’t quite as sharp after the opening burst, but the bigger issue was how little support he got around him.
Austin Reaves scored 21 points on 9-19 shooting and added four rebounds, five assists, one steal and one block, but he also turned it over eight times. After the game, Reaves admitted he was terrible again, marking his second straight outing with eight turnovers.
The bench was even rougher. Lakers reserves managed just seven points, while the Warriors’ second unit piled up 50.
Sunday’s win over Toronto was cleaner in that area, with the Lakers’ bench contributing 37 points. Even so, the game nearly slipped away late.
Los Angeles was up 123-109 with 1:43 left when JJ Redick emptied the starters, and the Raptors responded by cutting the margin to 125-120 with 43.7 seconds remaining. Doncic and the starters had to return to finish the job.
The Lakers got the win and moved to 5-2, but the bigger picture is hard to miss. Doncic has been brilliant, averaging 37.7 points, 8.2 rebounds, 7.3 assists, 1.8 steals and 0.8 blocks per game in 2026-27. He may be the MVP frontrunner right now, but he can’t do this alone forever.
Reaves was given a four-year, $180 million deal in the summer, and the Lakers need him to settle back into being a dependable second option. Quentin Grimes, who signed a four-year, $60 million contract, also needs to give them more than he has so far.
For now, Doncic’s brilliance is enough to keep the Lakers winning regular-season games. But if this keeps up, the gap between what he’s giving them and what everyone else is giving them is going to matter a lot more.
Next up is Miami at Crypto.com Arena on Monday at 10 p.m. ET, the second night of a back-to-back. The Lakers would love to see somebody else carry the load for once.
In Other News...
Raptors Suddenly Have A Jakob Poeltl Problem Bigger Than His Play
Jakob Poeltls early-season role has become one of the more uncomfortable issues hanging over the Raptors, and it is not just about what he has done on the floor. The starting centers play has drawn scrutiny, but the bigger conversation around him is starting to drift into roster construction and cap math, which is usually a sign a team has more than one problem on its hands.
Around the league, the suggested fixes have ranged from trimming his minutes to leaning more on other bigs, including Trayce Jackson-Davis, or even exploring a veteran addition at center. The most extreme idea in the mix is a move that would open financial flexibility by waiving and stretching Poeltls contract, which shows how quickly a performance question can turn into a front-office dilemma when a team is trying to balance the present with what comes next. [Read more 🡒]
Raptors Loss Exposed A Problem They Couldnt Afford Against The Lakers
Jakob Poeltls absence loomed over Torontos trip to Crypto.com Arena, where the Raptors dropped a 131-125 decision to the Lakers and spent much of the night trying to survive without their usual interior presence. Poeltl was ruled out with bursitis, and the mismatch showed up in the places Toronto least wanted it to, especially against a Los Angeles group that could lean on Luka Doncics 45-point outburst.
Even with all those turnovers forced, the Raptors could not turn enough of those extra chances into the kind of margin they needed. It left Toronto with a familiar frustration: effort was there, but the size issue was hard to ignore, and against a Lakers team that kept finding answers, it became the difference between staying in control and chasing the game late. [Read more 🡒]
Raptors Have An Offensive Problem Fans Cant Ignore
The Raptors loss to the Lakers was another reminder that their offense can look stuck when the game slows down. Scottie Barnes did his part with 29 points, but Toronto had trouble generating clean looks in the half-court, and the gaps showed up once the pace dropped and the Lakers were able to settle in defensively.
Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett were less effective as creators in those moments, which only sharpened the concern around a group still trying to find reliable answers without Kawhi Leonard in the lineup. With Leonard out and no clear return timetable, Toronto is left leaning harder on improvisation than structure, and that is becoming harder to ignore as the losses pile up. [Read more 🡒]