Luka Doncic and the Los Angeles Lakers are coming off a 135-118 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday. The Slovenian star left a strong impression on fans with his performance against the team’s old rival. Doncic had 43 points, nine rebounds and 13 assists. He took charge of the game and improved the Lakers’ record to 13-4, making them the second-best team in the Western Conference.
The game against the Clippers was important, since it was the Lakers’ third Emirates NBA Cup game of the 2025-26 NBA season. With their win, the Purple & Gold now has a 3-0 standing in the tournament. They have a shot to extend it to four on Friday against the Dallas Mavericks.
Although Doncic had a 40-point performance, it was difficult for him. After the game, the star guard highlighted how the NBA Cup courts were slippery. He admitted to having slipped numerous times against the Clippers.
“It’s just slippery. It’s dangerous,” Luka Doncic said. “I slipped. I slipped a lot of times, and you could see a lot of players slipped. And that’s dangerous, man.”
Even head coach JJ Redick pointed out the same issue. Redick told the media that he saw several players struggle on the floor.
“Yeah, I mean we’ll look at it. I noticed that guys were slipping, but I also noticed that guys were falling prior to that,” Redick said. “So, I don’t know, sometimes courts just don’t dry well when there’s condensation on it. I wish I had the White Goodman quote about sweating right now from ‘Dodgeball’, but I don’t. Otherwise, I’d use it, but yeah, we’ll take a look at it.”
Against the Mavericks on Friday, the league could pay more attention to the condition of the court. A slippery hardwood could lead to injuries to players and even referees.
James Harden wasn’t impressed with Luka Doncic’s 43-point game
Luka Doncic took the spotlight with his recent performance. It was one of those nights when he almost couldn’t miss any shot. Doncic shot 50.0% from the field and 58.3% from 3. Although he left people’s jaws on the floor, his opponent wasn’t impressed.
After the contest, Clippers star James Harden was asked about his thoughts on Doncic’s performance. But the one-time MVP, who had 29 points, downplayed it.
“Great player. You get enough attempts, you’re gonna make some of them,” Harden said.
“You get enough attempts, you’re gonna make some of them.”
– James Harden on Luka Doncic’s shooting last night
(🎥 @joeylinn_ )
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) November 26, 2025
His comments could create a slight rivalry with Doncic. The next time the two teams will face each other will be on Dec. 20. Fans might be on the lookout for a showdown between the European star and Harden.
For other sports-related content:
Follow me on X at @BarbecueBro, and follow us at @HardwoodHeroics and @GridironHeroics. You can also reach out to Reign Amurao via email at reignamuraonba@gmail.com. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest sports news, click here!
Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen on Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
