Lakers core dropping 101 points leads to Magic Johnson making striking claim on LA's playoff future

Following a commanding 123-100 victory over the Denver Nuggets, the LA Lakers have sparked bold predictions from Magic Johnson about the team’s future. With LeBron James, Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura contributing 101 points, Johnson believes JJ Redick’s game plan is producing results.

The NBA Hall of Famer took to X (formerly Twitter) to share his belief that advancing to the Western Conference finals is a realistic goal if the Lakers maintain this level of performance.

“Big win for the Lakers tonight! This game proves that Luka, LeBron, and Reaves can thrive in JJ Redick’s offense — and Rui helped out a lot tonight too. It was a great performance on both ends of the court. If the Lakers keep this up, they have a real shot at playing in the Western Conference Finals!” Johnson wrote.

Luka Doncic led the charge, delivering his best performance yet in a Lakers uniform. In less than 31 minutes of action, the guard tallied 32 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. Meanwhile, LeBron James notched his third consecutive 20-point game with 25 points. Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura had 23 and 21, respectively.

With the victory, the Lakers are now fifth in the Western Conference, holding a three-game lead over the No. 6 LA Clippers.

Luka Doncic discusses the LA Lakers’ goal

Luka Doncic had am emotional reaction following the win. After a string of underwhelming performances — averaging 14.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists in his first three games with the Lakers —the Slovenian star broke through with a 32-point outing.

In the postgame interview, the 25-year-old reflected on his challenging journey over the past few weeks.

“Hard, different, but you know, I'm happy to be playing basketball. So like I said, every day is going to get better for me. I'm happy to be here, playing with these guys has been incredible. So I'm happy for the new journey,” Doncic said.

As the Lakers showcased their potential to the NBA community, Doncic made it clear that the team’s goal is a championship.

“Our goal is to win championships. That's our only goal. Obviously we have the team for that,” Doncic said.

The focus now shifts to the Lakers’ upcoming matchup against the Dallas Mavericks, Doncic's former team.