Giannis Antetokounmpo Had Very High Praise For Luka Dončić After Lakers Win Over Heat

In what has become commonplace this season, even for his illustrious standards, Luka Dončić authored a magnificent performance during Monday night’s 138-117 rout of the Miami Heat. The Slovenian superstar recorded 42 points (14-of-24 shooting), 13 assists (two turnovers), seven rebounds and two steals. After a couple relatively quiet games to begin the year, Dončić is averaging 43.4 points, 8.6 assists (3.6 turnovers), 8.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals over his past five outings.

“It feels good. Like I say, obviously when we win, it feels way better and that’s the only important stuff,” Dončić told reporters postgame. “But, obviously, it feels good. When you win by 20 against a team like Miami, it’s really awesome, especially on a back to back.”

While the 2-5 Heat are struggling out of the gates and the Toronto Raptors were without Kawhi Leonard, the Sunday-Monday back-to-back this week projected as one of Los Angeles’ tougher early season tests when the schedule came out months ago. Of course, circumstances change but a pair of convincing wins (Sunday’s late-game foibles aside) against two playoff hopefuls is a nice way for the Lakers to kick off November.

Following the Heat’s loss, Giannis Antetokounmpo was asked by a reporter about how Dončić thrived as both a playmaker and scorer, given the fact defenses typically take away one of those aspects for a superstar while conceding the other. Antetokounmpo used the inquiry to bestow lofty praise upon Dončić, not just for his current league-wide standing but where he stacks up among the all-time greats.

“When you have a guy like Luka, obviously he’s one of the best scorers to ever play this game, if not the best,” Antetokounmpo said.

When the reporter offered a “right now” caveat to Antetokounmpo’s statement, the two-time MVP pushed back.

“Not right now, not right now. Of all time,” he said. “I feel like some people are scared to say that but it’s gotta be up there.”

Dončić is on an absolute tear right now, leading the Lakers’ second-ranked offense and playing some of the stingiest defense of his career. His next chance to keep the good times rolling comes Wednesday night on the road against the Sacramento Kings at 7 p.m.

You can follow Jackson on Twitter at @jackfrank_jjf.