"I think so" - Luka Doncic hilariously weighs in about rival players ending injury-hiatus just to play Lakers 

Luka Doncic shared his two cents when asked about rival teams' stars suiting up from their injury hiatus just to play the LA Lakers. Speaking to reporters after the Purple and Gold notched up a 108-102 win against the LA Clippers at the Crypto.com Arena, Doncic agreed with the theory of rival players taking the floor whenever LA was on their cards.

"I think so. I didn't believe it before, but they say if somebody is out a long time, and then they play against the Lakers," he said.

Over the years, there have been enough discussions and examples cited to show that key players of other teams from both conferences who had been sidelined would be game-ready when the Lakers were their next opponents.

On the game front, Doncic was key in LA's win over the crosstown rivals with 29 points, six rebounds, and nine assists. LeBron James was one point shy of reaching a massive 50,000 points in the NBA as he ended his evening with 17 points, five rebounds, and nine assists.

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Luka Doncic reflects on his skirmishes with the LA Clippers over the years

In the same discussion, Luka Doncic was asked about playing the Clippers. While he has played them twice as a Laker, he had his fair share of showdowns against the rival Western Conference outfit when he was part of the Dallas Mavericks. One of the better games was his step-back game-winning bucket in the NBA bubble.

In his 20 career regular-season games against the Clippers, Doncic is averaging 32.5 points and 8.0 rebounds per contest.

"I remember last game there was only one coverage with me. But like I always say, it’s like playing chess a little bit. You gotta read the defense and take what the defense gives you," he said.

The Lakers have been on a six-game winning streak—their best since acquiring Luka Doncic. The win, helped by the Denver Nuggets' loss earlier in the evening, saw LA take the No. 2 seed in a stacked West.

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