Luka Doncic stays hot with 42 points, earns Giannis' praise - ESPN

LOS ANGELES — Luka Doncic's volcanic scoring spree continued Monday with 42 points in the Los Angeles Lakers' 138-117 win over the Miami Heat.

Doncic's fourth 40-plus-point game in his past five outings raised his league-leading scoring average to 38.8 points per game.

And the performance prompted heady praise from Miami star Giannis Antetokounmpo — who is averaging the fourth-most points this season but still nearly 10 fewer than Doncic (28.4).

«Obviously, he's one of the best scorers to play this game, if not the best,» Antetokounmpo said after L.A. improved to 6-2 with the win over the struggling Heat (2-5).

A reporter interrupted Antetokounmpo's answer, hoping for additional context for the two-time MVP's claim.

«Right now?»

«Not right now,» Antetokounmpo replied. «Not right now. Of all time. I feel like some people are scared to say that, but he's got to be up there.»

Coming from a guy with nearly 22,000 career points and positioned No. 41 on the all-time scoring list — just a spot behind Larry Bird — that's saying something.

But there are numbers that support Doncic's case, such as his career scoring average of 29.32 points being right behind only Michael Jordan (30.12) and Wilt Chamberlain (30.07).

Or how the win over Miami was Doncic's fifth straight game with 20-plus points in the first half, becoming the first Lakers player to do so since Kobe Bryant in 2007.

Or how the 27-year-old star is on pace to earn his second straight scoring title and third of his career.

Or how his career playoff scoring average of 30.9 points is even better than his regular-season mark.

«It just feels almost anything he shoots, whether it's a circus shot or regular step-back 3, or it's a tough floater, it just seems like everything