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By Jayesh Pagar
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The Los Angeles Lakers were down 16 points in the second quarter against the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night.
Portland came in leading the West and looked set to beat the Lakers for a second time in 10 days.
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Then Luka Doncic took over. He hit a 62-foot heave at the halftime buzzer, scored 20 points in the third quarter, and finished with 53 in a 124-118 win. Afterward, one of his teammates had a clear answer about where Doncic stands.
Lakers center Walker Kessler, who had 16 points and 12 rebounds, was asked about the MVP race. In a Spectrum SportsNet clip shared on X by Oh No He Didn’t, Kessler smiled and admitted he was “biased, obviously” before giving his answer.
“Yeah, I mean, he’s incredible to watch. He’s incredible to play alongside, you know. Yeah, he’s my MVP. I mean, I think it’s pretty clear right now,” Kessler said.
Doncic has backed that up on the court. He is now averaging just over 40 points per game this season, and he has scored 40 or more in four straight games.
He is the first Laker to do that since Kobe Bryant in January 2012.
The Lakers paid a high price to land Kessler this summer. They sent two unprotected first-round picks and two pick swaps to the Utah Jazz, then signed him to a four-year, $130 million deal. Doncic had wanted a true big man next to him.
So far, the fit looks right. Friday was Kessler’s fourth double-double of the season, and the Lakers have now won four straight to improve to 8-2.
With LeBron James now in Philadelphia, this is fully Doncic’s team. If he keeps scoring like this, Kessler will not be the only one making that call for long.
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