Luka Doncic praised the Los Angeles Lakers’ “awesome” defence as they completed a second-half turnaround against the Denver Nuggets.

The Lakers overcame a 16-point deficit on their way to a 115-107 win in Denver, with Doncic the star of the show for Los Angeles.

He recorded a 38-point triple-double, also recording 13 rebounds and 10 assists, while LeBron James and Marcus Smart contributed with 19 and 15 points respectively.

The Lakers were outscored in both of the first two quarters, but held the Nuggets to just 36 points in the second half, while scoring 58 of their own.

Doncic hailed Los Angeles’ defence and adaptability, which they have previously been criticised for this season.

“It was awesome. What did they score, like 36 in the second half? So it was awesome,” said Doncic.

“Against Toronto the zone [defence] worked for us and we tried that in the first half here but it didn’t work out. We switched the plan and to stick to that [second] plan in the middle of the game was very impressive by us.

“They have a lot of great players. We stayed together, man. We fought this out.”

Triple-Double Dončić pic.twitter.com/t1pKtRUw8I

— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) January 21, 2026

This was also the first game Doncic played in after being named as an NBA All-Star starter.

Doncic was named in the starting five from Western Conference players, which also features Stephen Curry, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokic and Victor Wembanyama, with the Lakers guard leading the fan votes.

“I mean it’s incredible. I just want to thank everyone that voted for me,” added Doncic.

“[I’m] just a kid from Slovenia just dreaming about playing in the NBA. To come here an have this, I’m very honoured. I just want to say thank you to everybody.”