Luka Doncic drops 51 on the Bulls after getting jawboned by Matas Buzelis

Matas Buzelis decided to talk some trash to Luka Doncic on Thursday night. That was a mistake.

Buzelis, fresh off a career-high 41 points against the Warriors two nights earlier, started jawing at Doncic during a defensive switch in the second quarter. Luka responded with 10 straight points, found Deandre Ayton for an alley-oop, and did not stop until he had 51 points on the night in a 142-130 Lakers win at Crypto.com Arena.

“He woke me up,” Doncic told reporters after the game.

Doncic shot 17-for-31 from the field and 9-for-14 from three, adding 10 rebounds, nine assists, three steals, and a block. One assist shy of a triple-double. His first 50-point game as a Laker and a new career high in purple and gold, topping the 49 he put up against Minnesota on opening weekend back in October.

Luka Doncic gets his first 50-point game with the Lakers

FIRST 50-PT GAME AS A LAKER 🟣🟡 https://t.co/haqpLn8Lhy pic.twitter.com/yUe4rTL2gQ

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 13, 2026

Matas Buzelis on trash talking Luka Doncic: “Probably not to talk to him.”

Matas Buzelis on his takeaway from his trash-talk exchange with Luka Doncic:

“Probably not to talk to him.”

(Via @melissarohlin)pic.twitter.com/itd6bNYcnt

— Fullcourtpass (@Fullcourtpass) March 13, 2026

The numbers at this point are genuinely absurd.

Luka Doncic now has 13 40-point performances in 82 games as a Laker, placing him ninth in franchise history. Eleven of those have come this season alone, one of the most prolific single-season stretches in Lakers history.

He is leading the league in scoring at 32.5 points per game, averaging 8.5 assists and 7.9 rebounds. Since the All-Star break he is shooting 43.7 percent from three. Thursday was his sixth straight game attempting double-digit threes.

The Lakers have won seven of their last eight and moved to 41-25, jumping the Rockets into third place in the Western Conference. The timing matters. Denver is at Crypto.com Arena on Saturday and the margins between third and sixth in the West are razor thin right now. The Timberwolves are one game behind LA with 16 games left. Home court advantage in the first round could come down to the wire.

The timing of all this is not lost on anyone either.

TMZ reported on Tuesday that Luka Doncic’s ex-fiancée Anamaria Goltez filed a petition seeking child support and attorney fees from Doncic following their separation.

The petition was filed in California according to ESPN, though Doncic said he had “no idea” it had even been filed. A custody battle playing out in the tabloids in the middle of a playoff push is not exactly a distraction-free environment.

He responded by dropping 51 points. The man is locked in.

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