Luka Doncic was introduced Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. Then LeBron James showed the Los Angeles Lakers were a force to be reckoned with, even with Doncic in street clothes.
James scored 23 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and delivered five assists in the first half against the Golden State Warriors, putting the Lakers up 69-49 at the break and likely earning the 40-year-old superstar an extended second-half rest.
He showed every part of his game in the first-half decimation of the Warriors, still waiting for Jimmy Butler to make his debut.
He dunked with a ferocity that NBA players rarely achieve during their third decade in the NBA.
James also showed off his three-point stroke, making his first five three-point attempts of the game. Two minutes into the second quarter, James hit three straight triples, with each getting progressively deeper. The last one was a 34-footer from the Lakers logo.
It’s hard to call a shot a dagger three when it occurs with 33 minutes to go in the game, but once that shot went in, the game felt like it was over.
This game should have been huge after the Lakers traded for Doncic and the Warriors traded for Butler, ahead of a nationally-televised TNT game during Super Bowl week. But both team’s new acquisitions sat out, as did new Lakers center Mark Williams.
LeBron decided he could provide all the star power by himself. And build a big enough lead that he can rest up for Saturday’s game against the Indiana Pacers.
