Luka Dončić scores 42 with 13 assists for a fifth straight game of 37 or more, his 19th with 40 points, 10 assists and five threes

Luka Dončić scored 42 points with 13 assists and seven rebounds on Monday night, and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Miami Heat 138-117 at Crypto.com Arena. It was his fifth straight game with at least 37 points, and one night after he had 45 against Toronto.

He shot 14-of-24 from the field and 6-of-15 from three. The NBA said he now has the most games in league history with at least 40 points, 10 assists and five threes, 19 of them.

Dončić’s 42-point, 13-assist night, posted by the NBA on X.

A fifth straight game of 37 or more

In his previous four games Dončić had scored 45, 37, 41 and 52. Counting Monday, he has four 40-point games in his last five and is averaging 43.4 points over that stretch. Before the game he led the league in scoring at 37.7 points per game.

He started the way he has all season. Dončić had 16 points, five assists and four rebounds in the first quarter, when the Lakers took a 37-30 lead, and 24 points by halftime. Entering the night he was averaging 15.0 points in first quarters and had scored at least 13 in all but one of his seven games.

Dončić’s first half, posted by the NBA on X: 24 points, eight assists and three threes.

The three that was set up by LaRavia

In the third quarter Dončić missed a three, and Jake LaRavia chased down the rebound and passed it back to him. Dončić made the next one to put the Lakers up 93-74, and pointed at LaRavia as the Heat called a timeout. Los Angeles outscored Miami 32-21 in the quarter and shot 57% for the game, including 19-of-43 from three.

Austin Reaves added 27 points and Walker Kessler had 15 points and 15 rebounds. Giannis Antetokounmpo finished with 30 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists for the Heat, who are 2-5 and opened a five-game West Coast trip with their fifth loss in seven games. Dončić was called for a technical foul late in the first half, his second of the season.

“I don’t take it for granted”

Before the game, JJ Redick was asked whether anything stood out about Dončić’s early-season surge.

“No, and I don’t take it for granted,” Redick said. “I think a lot of times you can just be agog at his offensive prowess. Like watching some of the tape last night, and even during the game, like I think our guys were like agog at his defense. And it was just awesome. It was inspiring. I really mean that.”

The Lakers are 6-2 and visit Sacramento on Wednesday night.