Interactive: Luka Dončić’s 52 in Utah — an 18-point hole, 13 points in the last four minutes and a 10th 50-point night, step by step

Scroll through Luka Dončić's 52-point night in Salt Lake City: the Jazz's 47-point first quarter, his step-back for the halftime lead, three threes in the last four minutes, all 10 of his career 50-point games and where he now ranks in NBA and Lakers history.

Luka Dončić with the Lakers against Cleveland on Jan. 28, 2026. Photo by Erik Drost, resized.

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Luka Dončić's 52 in Salt Lake City: an 18-point hole, a 13-point finish and a 10th career 50-point night

The Lakers trailed by 18 in the second quarter in Utah. Dončić scored 52, the first 50-point game of the season, and closed it with three threes in the last four minutes. Scroll through the night, quarter by quarter, and where it puts him in NBA history.

Chapter 1

The line

Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026, at the Delta Center in front of 17,867. The Lakers won 132-123 to move to 3-0, and Luka Dončić played 38 minutes.

No player had scored 50 in the first week of the season. Dončić got there with a fourth-quarter flurry and finished two points past it.

0points, the most by any player this season

0/30shooting from the field (56.7%)

0/18three-pointers

0/11free throws

0assists, with eight rebounds and two steals

The Jazz home arena in Salt Lake City, now the Delta Center, in October 2017. Photo by Yassie, resized.

Chapter 2

Down 18, then a lead at the buzzer

Utah scored 47 points in the first quarter and led 47-29 after 12 minutes. The Jazz pushed the lead to 18 in the second quarter.

The Lakers answered with a 45-point second quarter, and Dončić’s step-back three with 4.1 seconds left in the half gave them their first lead of the night, 74-71.

Dončić's points by quarter

1st quarter17

2nd quarter8

3rd quarter14

4th quarter13

Team points by quarter: Lakers vs Jazz

Q1 Lakers29

Q1 Jazz47

Q2 Lakers45

Q2 Jazz24

Q3 Lakers29

Q3 Jazz29

Q4 Lakers29

Q4 Jazz23

Luka Dončić against Cleveland in January 2026. Photo by Erik Drost, resized.

Chapter 3

The last four minutes

Lauri Markkanen’s two free throws with 4:17 left put Utah ahead 116-113. From there the Lakers scored 19 of the last 26 points, and Dončić scored 13 of them himself.

4:06Dončić 24-foot step-back three ties it 116-116
3:34Dončić two free throws, Lakers lead 118-116
3:02Austin Reaves makes three free throws, 121-117
2:22Dončić 28-foot three, assisted by Reaves, 124-119
1:42Dončić 27-foot three ends a 14-5 run, 127-121
0:33.8Dončić finds Reaves for a three, 130-123
0:12.5Dončić two free throws, final 132-123

0/24free throws by Dončić and Reaves combined

0points for Austin Reaves on 7-of-12 shooting

0Lakers wins in their last nine games against Utah

Chapter 4

Ten nights of 50

It was Dončić’s 10th career 50-point game, all in the regular season, and his third in a Lakers uniform. His teams have won all 10.

Feb. 10, 202251 vs Clippers (Dallas)
Dec. 23, 202250 at Houston (Dallas)
Dec. 27, 202260 vs Knicks, with 21 rebounds and 10 assists (Dallas)
Dec. 31, 202251 at San Antonio (Dallas)
Jan. 30, 202353 vs Detroit (Dallas)
Dec. 25, 202350 at Phoenix (Dallas)
Jan. 26, 202473 at Atlanta (Dallas)
March 12, 202651 vs Chicago (Lakers)
March 19, 202660 at Miami (Lakers)
Oct. 25, 202652 at Utah (Lakers)

Points in each 50-point game

2/10/22 LAC51

12/23/22 HOU50

12/27/22 NYK60

12/31/22 SAS51

1/30/23 DET53

12/25/23 PHX50

1/26/24 ATL73

3/12/26 CHI51

3/19/26 MIA60

10/25/26 UTA52

LeBron James with the Los Angeles Lakers at Cleveland, March 21, 2022. Photo by Erik Drost, resized.

Chapter 5

Where 10 puts him

Ten 50-point games ties Dončić with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for 11th in NBA history, one behind Allen Iverson and one ahead of Kevin Durant and Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Most 50-point games, NBA history

Wilt Chamberlain118

Michael Jordan31

Kobe Bryant25

James Harden25

Elgin Baylor17

Damian Lillard15

Stephen Curry15

Rick Barry14

LeBron James14

Allen Iverson11

Abdul-Jabbar10

Luka Dončić10

On the Lakers’ own list, three 50-point games ties him with LeBron James for fifth and moves him past Shaquille O’Neal, Wilt Chamberlain and Anthony Davis, who had two each in purple and gold.

Most 50-point games as a Laker

Kobe Bryant25

Elgin Baylor17

Jerry West5

George Mikan4

Luka Dončić3

LeBron James3

Austin Reaves with the Los Angeles Lakers against Cleveland, March 21, 2022. Photo by Erik Drost, resized.

Chapter 6

The scoring champion, three games in

Dončić won the 2025-26 scoring title at 33.5 points a game, the first Laker to lead the league since Kobe Bryant in 2006-07. Three games into the new season he is ahead of that pace.

Dončić's points, 2026-27 game by game

vs Golden State, W 127-10528

vs Clippers, W 125-11723

at Utah, W 132-12352

0points in three games

0points per game so far

0points per game in his 2025-26 scoring-title season

The night had a second storyline. Walker Kessler, sent to Los Angeles in a sign-and-trade in July, was booed in his first game back in Utah and finished with two points and seven rebounds in 28 minutes. Markkanen led the Jazz with 28, and Keyonte George had 24 points, nine rebounds and 10 assists.

One unbeaten record ends on Tuesday night. The 2-0 Portland Trail Blazers, with Damian Lillard back, visit the 3-0 Lakers at 11 p.m. ET, which is 6 a.m. Wednesday in Cairo, and the Lakers play the Clippers again on Wednesday on the second night of a back-to-back.

Dončić needs one more 50-point game to match Iverson’s 11, and two more to pass George Mikan on the Lakers’ list.