It was Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic’s first battle since the seismic trade.

Luka Doncic delivered his best performance yet with the Los Angeles Lakers, dropping 32 points to lead the Lakers to a dominant 123-100 victory over his friend Nikola Jokić and the Denver Nuggets, snapping Denver’s nine-game winning streak.

In his strongest performance with the Lakers, Luka Doncic tallied 32 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists, and four steals. For the first time this season, three other Lakers also surpassed the 20-point mark.

LeBron James contributed 25 points, while Austin Reaves added 23 and Rui Hachimura scored 21 before exiting with a left-side injury early in the fourth. Despite his absence, the Lakers surged ahead with a 12-2 run, extending their lead to 19.

Nikola Jokic recorded his 26th triple-double of the season, but he struggled offensively, shooting just 2-of-7 with six turnovers. He finished with 12 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists.

Aaron Gordon put up 24 points, while Jamal Murray added 19 for Denver, which suffered its first loss of the month. Despite their strong run, the Nuggets have yet to win 10 straight games under Michael Malone’s decade-long tenure.

Luka Doncic ending the Nuggets’ mastery of the Lakers

Since the Luka-AD trade, the Lakers faced their longtime rivals, the Nuggets, for the first time. In their previous meeting in November, Denver dominated with a 127-102 win behind Nikola Jokic’s 34 points and 13 rebounds.

The Nuggets have controlled the head-to-head series, winning the last five matchups. The Lakers’ last regular-season victory in Denver came on April 10, 2022, in a 146-141 overtime thriller.