Luka Doncic scored 40 points, his sixth straight game with at least 35, as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Sacramento Kings 116-103 on Wednesday. He became the first player in 38 years to surpass 300 points through eight games since Michael Jordan.
Doncic has played in eight of Los Angeles’ first nine games and has scored 308 points. That is the most through eight games of a season since 1988, when Jordan had 303 in the 1988-89 season.
Chamberlain Still Holds the Record
The only player who has scored more points in his first eight games of a season is Wilt Chamberlain, who did it three times. His best was 418 points in his first eight games of the 1962-63 season.
Doncic Leads Lakers Past Kings
Doncic made six three-pointers and 12 of 13 free throws to lead the Lakers to their seventh win in nine games this season. He also grabbed nine rebounds and dished out seven assists. Austin Reaves added 21 points for Los Angeles.
The Kings could not build on their first win of the season, a victory on Monday at Dallas, and fell to 1-7. They have lost all three of their home games. Darius Acuff Jr. led Sacramento with 22 points and 12 assists, while Zach LaVine scored 21 and Domantas Sabonis had 16 points and 17 rebounds.
Fan Removed After Incident
Doncic was also involved in an incident late in the third quarter that led to a spectator being removed from his seat near the baseline. After a ball went out of bounds, the fan threw it aggressively at official Chelisa Painter. Doncic immediately pointed at the fan and appeared to say something to him. Security then came over and removed the fan.