Luka Doncic and the Los Angeles Lakers tore apart the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night, with Doncic, coming off a one-game suspension, exploding for 42 points, as well as 12 assists, in a 127-113 win.
Although Doncic, who is averaging a league-leading 33.8 points per game, is always able to have a night like the one he did vs. Cleveland, Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson admitted afterward that his strategy to defend Doncic didn’t help the Cavs’ cause.
“I certainly didn’t have the right game plan,” Atkinson said [h/t Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor]. “That was obvious. With great players, you can’t give them a steady diet of one thing.”
Against the Cavs, Doncic feasted on pick-and-roll actions, which Cleveland defended with a heavy dose of drop coverage. With neither Jarrett Allen nor Evan Mobley meeting Doncic at the perimeter to cut him off after the screen, Max Strus, Doncic’s primary defender, was mostly helpless as Doncic rained down 3-pointers or slowly drove toward the basket. On the night, Doncic made six of his 13 threes, and many of his dozen assists came from dumping the ball off to a nearby big man while driving.
“They got layup, layup, layup,” Atkinson said. “I thought the Lakers were playing at their pace. They were getting to their spots easy, and we just didn’t have the requisite energy. That got us in a hole.”
Entering the fourth quarter, the Lakers already had the game well in hand, leading 110-83. Allen ended up being the Cavs’ leading scorer, finishing with 18 points, while James Harden added 17.
The Cavaliers will conclude their West Coast road trip on Thursday against the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco.