Lakers star Luka Dončić finished with 44 points on Friday, becoming the first player since the 1961-62 season to score at least 40 points in each of their first three games of the season. Wilt Chamberlain was the last to do it. Petre Thomas / Imagn Images

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Luka Dončić returned from missing three games with injury and picked up right where he left off, scoring 44 points and leading the Lakers to a 117-112 win against the Memphis Grizzlies.

“I feel great, you know, but obviously, if we get a win, I feel even better,” he said afterward. “So that’s the whole point, trying to help the team to win. And sometimes it’s going to be scoring, sometimes other things.”

Dončić, who had been out since last Friday with leg and finger injuries, became just the second player to open a season with three consecutive games of at least 40 points. Wilt Chamberlain accomplished the feat twice, opening the 1961 season with five games of at least 40 and the 1962 season with seven games scoring 40 or more.

“Jesus,” Dončić said, exasperated when he heard of Chamberlain’s accomplishment.

With the way he’s started the season, anything looks possible for the Lakers’ Slovenian star. He opened the year with 43 points against the Golden State Warriors and followed it with 49 against the Minnesota Timberwolves. His 51.9 percent shooting on Friday against the Grizzlies was actually the least efficient game he’s had this season.

“He just continues to get where he wants to go, and he takes what the defense gives him,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said.

Luka Dončić goes behind-the-back and finishes 🔥

He finishes the first half with 19 points!

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— NBA (@NBA) November 1, 2025

After rejoining the Lakers in Memphis on Thursday, Dončić met with coaches for an evening workout. He participated in shootaround Friday morning and, along with Marcus Smart, was soon upgraded to probable for the Lakers’ NBA Cup opener.

He quickly got to work against the Grizzlies, scoring 13 points in the first quarter. The Lakers, though, were torched in the second quarter, allowing 42 Memphis points as they fell behind by as many as 15.

“I didn’t raise my voice, at least I don’t think I did,” Redick said of his halftime talk. “But it wasn’t clean. Not safe for work. But if I had to summarize it, we didn’t start the game playing hard, then we did, built an eight-point lead and then they went on a 33-11 run primarily with five guys on the court that just played harder than us. So we challenged them at halftime, and (then) it was like watching two different teams.”

Dončić and the Lakers rolled in the third, with the star guard getting hot and scoring 16 points before his squad pulled ahead in the fourth for good. Austin Reaves added 21, and former Grizzlies Jake LaRavia and Smart had 13 and 12, respectively.

Center Deandre Ayton didn’t play in the second half as trainers worked on his back during timeouts. The Lakers said he was dealing with back spasms and would be available to return.

The Lakers (4-2) have now won four of their last five games after losing the season opener to Golden State. They play the Miami Heat on Sunday in Los Angeles.

Nov 1, 2025

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Dan Woike covers the Los Angeles Lakers for The Athletic. He’s written about professional basketball in Los Angeles since 2011, first for the Orange County Register and most recently for the Los Angeles Times. His work has been recognized by the Associated Press Sports Editors, the Pro Basketball Writers Association, the Los Angeles Press Club and the California News Publishers Association. He’s originally from Chicago. Follow Dan on Twitter @DanWoikeSports