Getty
Luka Doncic #77 and Austin Reaves #15 of the Los Angeles Lakers hold hands during a time out in the second half of a game against the Chicago Bulls at Crypto.com Arena on March 12, 2026 in Los Angeles, California.
The Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday made NBA history when their five starters amassed a total of 137 points in regulation. The starting unit of Luka Doncic (51), Austin Reaves (30), Deandre Ayton (23), LeBron James (18) and Rui Hachimura (15) combined for 137 points in the 142-130 win over the Chicago Bulls.
The Lakers’ starters fell just five points short of the overall record set by the Detroit Pistons and Denver Nuggets, whose starters each scored 142 points on Dec. 13, 1983. However, that game was a three-overtime thriller that finished with Isiah Thomas’ Pistons beating Alex English’s Nuggets by an NBA record margin of 186-184.
In recent years, Phoenix Suns’ starters amassed 138 points versus the New Jersey Nets on Dec. 7, 2006. That game, too, saw two overtime periods.
Lakers Team Effort
Tuesday’s game marked just the eighth instance of the Lakers using the Doncic, Reaves, James, Hachimura and Ayton starting unit this season. During training camp, the Lakers were expected to employ this starting lineup to begin the season. However, James missed the first 14 games of the season with sciatica, and subsequent injuries to Reaves curtailed the Lakers’ plans to use this specific lineup. Furthermore, Lakers head coach JJ Redick temporarily replaced Hachimura with Jake LaRavia and even Marcus Smart for defensive purposes.
With James (hip/foot) returning to the lineup from injury on Thursday, and Smart (hip) sitting out, Redick, by happenstance, was forced to use his original starting unit — a decision that paid off in a big way.
Lakers Hitting Their Stride
After Thursday’s win, Redick acknowledged that the Lakers — who have used 23 different starting lineups this season — can finally find their rhythm with good health.
“The human struggle to want what you want while also having the emotional maturity and recognition that you have someone next to you hasn’t been so clean, but losing a training camp and the start of the year (without James), then losing AR for a long stretch, I think we are starting to get it,” Redick said, via USA Today.
“… thats just the nature of it and that’s the nature of every big three that’s played together and we are going to get there and I think we have seen some positive signs.
“With LeBron, I know he recognizes the importance of having Luka as the engine and all he really wants is to impact winning and I’ve said that now for the past two weeks, but we are going to get there.”
Redick also praised Ayton for leading the team with 12 rebounds, to go with 14 points.
“It’s great for his teammates to see him have a really good performance on both ends of the floor,” Redick said. “Better for (Ayton) to have a game like that against a really good team, one of the best teams in basketball. … It’s good for his confidence.”
The Lakers have gone 8-4 since the All-Star break with an impressive 119.9 offensive rating, up from their 116.3 mark before the midseason break. During their four-game winning streak, they’ve registered comfortable wins over powerhouses like the New York Knicks and Minnesota Timberwolves. With Tuesday’s win, they reclaimed the No. 3 seed, but they own just a 1.0-game lead over the sixth-seeded Timberwolves.
Sai Mohan covers the NBA for Heavy.com. Based in Portugal, Sai is a seasoned sports writer with nearly two decades of publishing experience, including bylines at Yardbarker, FanSided’s Hoops Habit, International Business Times, Hindustan Times and more. More about Sai Mohan
More Heavy on Lakers
Loading more stories