Doncic drops 52 as Lakers rally from 18 down to stun Jazz

A comeback sealed by a superstar

The result is in from the fixture previewed yesterday evening, and it delivered exactly the kind of night the preview promised. The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Utah Jazz 132-123 at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Sunday, 25 October 2026, completing an 18-point comeback to stay unbeaten at 3-0 in the 2026-27 NBA regular season.

Luka Doncic was the story. The Lakers guard scored 52 points on 17-of-30 shooting, including 8-of-18 from three-point range, and added 10 assists, eight rebounds and two steals in 38 minutes. It was the first 50-point game of the 2026-27 NBA season, the 10th 50-point regular-season game of Doncic's career, and, according to the NBA, the first time a Lakers player has ever recorded at least 50 points, 10 assists, five rebounds and five three-pointers in a single game.

Utah's flying start

For a long stretch, none of that looked likely. Utah came out flying and led 47-29 after the first quarter, shooting 61 percent from the field and piling up 14 assists on 19 baskets. Ace Bailey scored 15 points in the opening period, Lauri Markkanen added 12, and the Jazz looked ready to run away with a game they led by as many as 18 points.

The Lakers' response began in the second quarter, and Austin Reaves lit the fuse. Reaves scored 15 points in the period, hitting three three-pointers, as Los Angeles outscored Utah 45-24 to wipe out the deficit. Doncic then took over the final seconds of the half, stealing the ball from Bailey and pulling up for a three-pointer that gave the Lakers their first lead of the game, 74-71, going into the break. Doncic had 25 points by half-time after scoring 17 of the Lakers' first 25.

A fourth quarter owned by Doncic

The third quarter was a tug of war, but the Lakers never gave the lead back. Doncic scored 14 points in the period and hit a step-back three-pointer to close it, sending Los Angeles into the fourth quarter ahead 103-100. He had 39 points through three quarters, and the game was still very much alive.

Utah refused to go away. The Jazz edged back in front in the final minutes, and when Doncic tied the game at 116 with a step-back three with just over four minutes left, the Delta Center was set for a finish worthy of the night. What followed was the decisive burst: a 14-5 Lakers run, finished off by Doncic with back-to-back three-pointers in the space of 40 seconds to make it 127-121 with 1:42 remaining. The second of those threes was his 50th point of the night.

Doncic then turned provider for the dagger, finding Reaves for a three-pointer that stretched the lead to 130-123 in the final minute and gave him his 10th assist. Two free throws with 12.5 seconds left took him to 52 and sealed a nine-point win that had looked improbable two hours earlier.

The supporting cast and Utah's regret

Reaves was superb alongside him, finishing with 29 points on 7-of-12 shooting, including 4-of-5 from three-point range. Together, Doncic and Reaves shot 21-of-24 from the free-throw line, and that reliability at the stripe mattered as the game tightened. Collin Sexton added 13 points off the bench, while Ziaire Williams and Matisse Thybulle scored 11 each. Walker Kessler, back in Utah for the first time since his summer move to Los Angeles, had a quiet night with two points and seven rebounds.

Utah will rue letting this one slip. Markkanen led the Jazz with 28 points, Keyonte George finished with 24 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds, one board short of a triple-double, and Bailey added 17 points and 12 rebounds. Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 20. The Jazz dominated the paint 58-30, won the rebounding battle, and grabbed 20 offensive rebounds, but they made only 10 three-pointers to the Lakers' 20, and that 30-point gap from beyond the arc proved decisive.

Lakers head coach JJ Redick summed up the Doncic show afterwards. "When he's in the flow state, he gets into showman mode," Redick said. "He's on stage performing, and that's always fun to watch." Doncic himself was more interested in the lesson of the slow start. "We had a terrible first quarter," he said. "We learned our lesson, so we cannot start games like this any more. Played the basketball we know how to play."

The win keeps the Lakers perfect through three games, and it also carried a personal milestone for Doncic, who reached 3,000 points as a Laker in just 95 games, the fastest in franchise history. The Lakers now return home to host the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday, while the Jazz, who fall to 1-2, host the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday. For Utah, the encouragement of a brilliant first quarter will be tempered by the knowledge that an 18-point lead at home was not enough to hold off a superstar at the peak of his powers.