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 in his first eight games of a season, 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 in the period since 1988, and it tops the 303 Jordan scored in 1988-89.
The only player with more points in his first eight games of a season is Wilt Chamberlain, who did it three times. His high was 418 points in his first eight games of 1962-63.
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 delivered seven assists.
Austin Reaves added 21 points for Los Angeles.
Late in the third quarter, Doncic was involved in an incident 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.
Kings Fall to 1-7
Sacramento could not build on its first win of the season, a victory on Monday at Dallas. The Kings fell to 1-7 and have lost all three of their home games.
Darius Acuff Jr., a rookie guard, led Sacramento with 22 points and 12 assists. Zach LaVine scored 21, and Domantas Sabonis recorded 16 points and 17 rebounds.