{"id":1727,"section":"sports","section_label":"Sports","url":"https://www.brokenews.co/sports/1727","headline":"Doncic scores 45 and plays defense too in Lakers win over Raptors","dek":"The Lakers star added 15 rebounds, six assists, five steals and a block as Los Angeles held off a late Toronto rally, 131-125.","body":"Luka Doncic has never lacked for volume, but Sunday he did the unusual thing and backed up the scoring with defense. The Lakers star put up 45 points, 15 rebounds, six assists, five steals and a block in a 131-125 home win over the Raptors, a stat line that got as much attention for the five steals as for the point total.\n\nThe win got Los Angeles back on track after a 112-95 road loss to the Golden State Warriors that opened the Emirates NBA Cup group play stage. The Raptors made a late push, but it wasn't enough, and the Lakers improved to 5-2 on the season.\n\nDoncic was happy to talk about the defensive side of his game afterward. \"Obviously, I'm not the best defender in the NBA. But I think this year I've really taken a step forward,\" he said, pointing to the increased effort as a sign of where his game is heading this season.\n\nFor a player already leading the league in scoring, turning in a highlight defensive performance on top of the usual offensive output is the kind of thing that tends to get a franchise's attention, especially from its unquestioned leader.","published_at":"2026-11-02T23:20:46.962309+00:00","source_count":3,"written_from":[{"outlet":"CBS Sports","publisher":"CBS Sports","title":"Luka Dončić explains his 'step forward' on defense after five-steal performance vs. Raptors","url":"https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/luka-doncic-explains-step-forward-defense/"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Luka Doncic Posts Historic Statline to Lift Lakers Over Raptors","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/luka-doncic-posts-historic-statline-150546871.html"},{"outlet":"ESPN","publisher":"ESPN","title":"On 45-point night, Luka's defense steals show: 'This year I really took a step forward'","url":"https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/50356293/lakers-luka-doncic-touts-improved-defense-win-vs-raptors"}],"more_coverage":[{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Lakers' Luka Doncic makes history twice, fills up stat sheet vs Raptors","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/lakers-luka-doncic-makes-history-040404950.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Luka Doncic has 45 points, 15 rebounds while leading Lakers to 131-125 victory over Raptors","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/luka-doncic-45-points-15-044155334.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Doncic scores 45, grabs season-high 15 boards in win over Toronto","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/doncic-scores-45-grabs-season-044727772.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Lakers’ Luka Doncic unloads on Raptors with eye-popping halftime stats","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/lakers-luka-doncic-unloads-raptors-043905135.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Lakers player grades: Luka Doncic allows L.A. to get past the Raptors","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/lakers-player-grades-luka-doncic-050351921.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Luka Doncic puts on another sensational show, scoring 45 in Lakers' win over Raptors","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/luka-doncic-puts-another-sensational-045359694.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Luka Doncic just did something that has never been done in NBA history during Lakers vs Raptors","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/luka-doncic-just-did-something-052052258.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Lakers’ Luka Doncic is not having it with Scottie Barnes’s shenanigans during Raptors game","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/lakers-luka-doncic-not-having-053038377.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Lakers’ Luka Doncic torches Raptors with stat line NBA has not seen before","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/lakers-luka-doncic-torches-raptors-055156927.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Luka Doncic's impressive performances are not surprising for JJ Redick anymore","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/luka-doncics-impressive-performances-not-062419395.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Luka Dončić carries Lakers to win over Raptors","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/luka-don-carries-lakers-win-043722765.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Lakers ride Luka Dončić’s 45-point night past Raptors","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/lakers-ride-luka-don-45-065845830.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"‘MVP of This League,’ ‘Best Game of the Season’ — NBA Fans in Awe As Lakers Star Luka Dončić Torches Raptors With 45-Point Outburst","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/mvp-league-best-game-season-064705405.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Luka Dončić has taken a step forward defensively for the Lakers this season","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/luka-don-taken-step-forward-064900140.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Lakers nearly blow another lead — but Luka’s heroics were enough for win","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/lakers-nearly-blow-another-lead-045938173.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Luka Doncic becomes first player in NBA history with 15 rebounds, eight threes and five steals in a game","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/luka-doncic-becomes-first-player-120854775.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Luka Doncic's latest 45-point explosion reveals incredible Lakers scoring trend","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/luka-doncics-latest-45-point-122842354.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Luka Doncic Pushes Back on His Biggest Criticism After Huge Lakers Win","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/luka-doncic-pushes-back-biggest-140400438.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Lakers’ Luka Doncic Claps Back at Criticism After Raptors Win","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/lakers-luka-doncic-claps-back-171402550.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Fantasy Basketball Week 2 High Score Perfect Lineup: Luka Dončić uses another Sunday outburst to top leaderboard","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/fantasy/article/fantasy-basketball-week-2-high-score-perfect-lineup-luka-doncic-uses-another-sunday-outburst-to-top-leaderboard-175327614.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"The Lakers 'live on a spaceship,' and Luka Dončić looks like the best damn pilot in the galaxy","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/article/the-lakers-live-on-a-spaceship-and-luka-doncic-looks-like-the-best-damn-pilot-in-the-galaxy-183740557.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Luka Dončić Flashes ‘Improved’ Defense In Historic 45-Point Game","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/luka-don-flashes-improved-defense-185440193.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Lakers’ Luka Doncic fires defiant message at defensive doubters as he scorches Raptors","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/lakers-luka-doncic-fires-defiant-192823205.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Luka Doncic is shining on defense, has perfect 2-word reaction to praise","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/luka-doncic-shining-defense-perfect-184655775.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Lakers coach makes stern demand of players  or else: ‘I’ll take these guys out’","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/lakers-coach-makes-stern-demand-190842046.html"}],"image":null,"embed":null,"license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/","attribution":"Analysis data is licensed CC BY 4.0. Credit brokenews and link to the story page you took it from. Source headlines, story titles taken from a source headline, and quoted passages remain the property of their publishers and are quoted for comparison, not licensed onward.","terms":"https://www.brokenews.co/about#reuse"}