Luka Dončić scores 37, takes the blame for a blown 25-point lead and asks for patience: ‘Me first. I got to be better’

Luka Dončić scored 37 points in Friday’s 112-95 loss at Golden State and then put the collapse on himself first, saying the reworked Los Angeles Lakers need time and games together before they can hold a lead like the one they built at Chase Center.

“Me first. I got to be better,” Dončić said after the Emirates NBA Cup group opener on Friday, October 30, before turning to the group as a whole. “It’s going to take some time, for sure. We got a lot of new guys, but I really like playing with these guys.”

A 25-point lead, gone

The self-criticism came on a night when little of the blame was his. Dončić hit five threes in the first quarter and scored 21 of his points before the first break, and Los Angeles led 38-15 after one and 40-15 early in the second. Golden State won the second quarter 38-15 to tie it at halftime, and after the Lakers went back in front 80-78 late in the third quarter, the Warriors outscored them 20-1. Stephen Curry finished with 31 points and 8 threes.

Dončić ended 12-of-27 from the field, 6-of-16 from three and 7-of-8 at the line, with 7 rebounds and 5 assists, and picked up a technical foul late in the third quarter. Reports noted that Los Angeles was plus-9 in his 37 minutes and minus-26 in the 11 he sat, and that no team in the shot-clock era had lost by more after leading by 20 or more at the end of the first quarter.

Where the help went missing

The gap between his minutes and the rest showed up all over the box score. The bench of Collin Sexton, Quentin Grimes, Sandro Mamukelashvili and Jarred Vanderbilt combined for 7 points. The Lakers made 11 of 39 threes and turned the ball over 22 times, and Austin Reaves had 21 points but 8 of those turnovers.

That is the context for the patience Dončić asked for. Los Angeles is still 4-2, and he framed the loss as a shared one rather than a referendum on a roster that added several new rotation players over the summer, saying the group wins and loses as one. The full numbers from the night are in our game recap.

What comes next

The Lakers host the Toronto Raptors on Sunday, November 1, at 9 p.m. ET (4 a.m. Monday Cairo time), their only home game against Toronto this season. The Raptors are coming off a loss in Orlando and are without Kawhi Leonard, who has a knee injury. Preview and live updates: Game Center.