Lakers Commentators Call Out Luka Doncic With Apparent Stat Padding Accusation

It was a Luka Doncic masterclass once again in the Los Angeles Lakers' 131-125 win over the Toronto Raptors. But one of his 15 rebounds got some playful pushback from his own team’s broadcasters.

With the Lakers up 114-101 and about five minutes left in the fourth quarter, a loose ball bounced toward the corner and Doncic chased it down. On Spectrum SportsNet, Bill Macdonald and Stu Lantz pointed out that he didn’t need to.

“It glances into the corner, chased down by Luka,” they commented. “(He) could have let it go, but... that would have been a team rebound.”

“Yeah, exactly right, that’s what I’m saying,” came the reply. “You beat me to it.”

The point was simple. If the ball had gone out, the Lakers would have kept possession anyway, and the rebound would have gone to the team instead of to Doncic. By grabbing it, he added one more board to his total. The comment was lighthearted, but the clip quickly made the rounds online as a stat-padding jab.

However, it is hard to argue that Doncic needed help with his numbers. He finished with 45 points, a season-high 15 rebounds, six assists and five steals. He became the first player in NBA history with at least 45 points, 15 rebounds, five assists, five steals and five threes in a game, and the Lakers improved to 5-2. He’s now averaging 37.7 points, 8.2 rebounds and 7.3 assists.

The game itself wasn't really close for most of the night. The Lakers led 36-23 after the first quarter and 66-54 at halftime, and they were up by 26 in the third. Toronto won the fourth quarter 43-27, but most of that came at the very end.

After the Lakers pulled their starters with 1:43 left and a 16-point lead, the Raptors’ bench scored 11 points in 40 seconds, and Doncic, Austin Reaves and Walker Kessler had to come back in to finish it off.

While his own broadcasters were having fun with him, he was getting credit elsewhere, especially for something that, according to many, is not his strong suit, his defense. He forced eight turnovers with five steals and three charges. According to ESPN Research, he’s the first player to do both in the same game since player tracking began in 2013-14.

“The guy scores 36 points a game in 35 minutes. Defensively, he's doing everything, and when you are a Lakers fan, or you're a Lakers player; you see him doing things like this. This has to pump you up,” another X account shared a portion of the Raptors’ commentary on Doncic. “Fighting in the post, not being the liability on the defensive end and doing what he's doing offensively, it's just a big-time performance in the first half.”

So maybe that one rebound was a little extra. But it didn’t cost the Lakers anything, and on a night like this, no one in the building was complaining.