Luka Dončić Scores 53 as Lakers Hold Off Blazers 124-118 in NBA Cup

By The Arena Staff

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 6, 2026 — Luka Dončić scored 53 points, banked in a 61-footer at the halftime buzzer and hit a key jumper with 28 seconds left as the Los Angeles Lakers held off the Portland Trail Blazers 124-118 in Emirates NBA Cup play Friday night at Crypto.com Arena.

It was Dončić's 11th career 50-point game and his fourth in a Lakers uniform, the Associated Press reported. Austin Reaves added 25 points and Walker Kessler had 16 points and 12 rebounds as Los Angeles (8-2) won its fourth straight, moved to 1-0 in Cup group play and took over first place in the Western Conference. The Lakers also avenged a 136-129 home loss to Portland on Oct. 27.

Dončić finished 17 of 33 from the field, 5 of 15 from three and 14 of 18 from the line with five rebounds and five assists in 38 minutes, per the official box score. He scored 20 points in the third quarter alone and has now posted six 40-point games in a seven-game surge that includes four straight 40s. NBA.com noted he is averaging 40.1 points through nine games (361 total) — joining Wilt Chamberlain as the only players to average 40 or more through the first nine games of a season — and that he tied Oscar Robertson for the longest streak of games with at least 35 points, five rebounds and five assists (seven).

Los Angeles trailed by 16 in the second quarter and opened the night by missing its first 15 three-point attempts. Dončić missed his first five threes before the heave from the opposite free-throw circle cut Portland's lead to seven at the break. The Lakers then erased the deficit with a 17-0 third-quarter run and briefly led by 16 early in the fourth on a 32-11 surge, AP reported. Portland repeatedly got within four in the final minutes; Dončić and Reaves scored 10 of the Lakers' last points to seal it.

Deni Avdija had 22 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds and Damian Lillard scored 22 for the Blazers (6-2), who lost for only the second time this season on the final stop of a four-game road trip. Portland outscored Los Angeles 43-37 in the fourth but never caught up. Dončić joined Elgin Baylor, Kobe Bryant and George Mikan as the only Lakers to score 40 in four straight regular-season games, and with his fourth 50-point night as a Laker he passed LeBron James and tied Mikan for fourth on the franchise's 50-point list, NBA.com reported.

Sources: Associated Press via ESPN, NBA.com and The Guardian.