The Los Angeles Lakers star had one of the most impactful games of the season, leading his team to a come-from-behind victory over the Denver Nuggets.
Published January 21, 2026
The Los Angeles Lakers rode to a 115-107 road victory over the Denver Nuggets in Colorado on Tuesday, sparking a second-half rally that saw Luka Doncic score a 38-point triple-double.
The Lakers appeared to be in trouble after Denver’s explosive first half, but Jamal Murray’s 26 points led them to a 71-57 lead at halftime.
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However, an improved Los Angeles defense thwarted Murray after halftime, Doncic and LeBron James kept the points flowing, and the Lakers fought back to earn an impressive victory.
Doncic had 38 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists, James had 19 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, and the Lakers outscored Denver 58-36 in the second half.
“They’re playing great basketball, Murray was playing at an All-Star level… They’ve got a lot of great players,” Doncic said. “We just stayed together and fought through this.”
With this win, the Lakers moved up to 26-16, but third-place Denver fell to 29-15.
Rockets win Texas Derby against Spurs
In San Francisco, the Golden State Warriors, still reeling from Jimmy Butler’s season-ending knee injury, suffered a 145-127 loss to the Toronto Raptors on Monday.
Immanuel Quickley led Toronto with 40 points in the wire-to-wire win.
In Houston, the Rockets ended the San Antonio Spurs’ winning streak in three games, overturning a 16-point deficit and defeating their in-forming Texas rival 111-106.
Reid Shepard led the scoring with a dramatic cameo off the bench with 21 points, and he scored 12 points in the fourth quarter to get Houston over the line.
Houston won with Turkey’s Alpelen Sengun scoring 20 points and Kevin Durant scoring 18 points.
The Rockets trailed by 16 points in the third quarter, but a 13-0 run erased San Antonio’s advantage.
“We had good energy throughout the game,” Shepherd said.
“When we cut the lead a little bit in the fourth quarter, it was just like, ‘Keep fighting, keep coming together, we’re getting close, let’s get our team together and take a big step forward.’
“And that’s what we did. It was a great team effort.”
San Antonio got off to a fast start, outscoring Houston 39-28 in the first quarter and taking a 70-60 halftime lead and seemed to be on track.
However, the Spurs’ shooting accuracy stalled in the fourth quarter, making only 7 of 28 field goals and 13 3-pointers.
Julien Champagnie led San Antonio in scoring with 27 points, and Victor Wembaneyama and De’Aaron Fox each added 14 points.
In other games Tuesday, the Chicago Bulls defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 138-110 at home, hitting 25 3-pointers and Coby White was the leading scorer with 27 points.
In Salt Lake City, Keyontae George scored 43 points, topping Anthony Edwards’ 38 points, and the lowly Utah Jazz defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 127-122.
