In addition to scoring 25 points, Luka Doncic added seven rebounds and four assists.
Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Dončić made his preseason debut against the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday, finishing with 25 points in a 113-104 loss. Dončić has been rested for the entire preseason so far, with the Lakers’ goal being for the 26-year-old superstar to recover from his summer commitment playing for the Slovenian national team at EuroBasket.
Doncic, who played just over 22 minutes, finished with 25 points, seven rebounds and four assists.
Coach JJ Redick said the Lakers would look to prepare Dončić as the regular season approaches.
“I would say there will most likely be a surge from Game 1 to Game 2 in Luka’s minutes,” Redick said. “What does that total number look like, we’re still talking to Javy [Barrio, Dončić’s athletic trainer] and Luka on what makes sense.
Marcus Smart also made his preseason debut, playing just over 20 minutes.
“You want to put your best five players on the field as much as possible. You also want to have balance with each lineup,” Redick said. “When we do our substitution metrics: Who’s going to guard? Who’s going to create? Are we going to have enough shots? So you do that with every lineup you present, including the starting lineup.”
With the regular season opener against the Golden State Warriors a week away, Redick says the starting lineup is a work in progress with LeBron James out for at least another 2-3 weeks with sciatica on his right side.
“We’re still working on it and obviously losing LeBron for the start of the year complicates things a little bit in some ways. So we have a week to figure that out and I think it will reveal itself to us.”
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
