On Friday, Luka Doncic scored his fourth career 50-point regular-season game in the Los Angeles Lakers shirt. The Purple and Gold superstar etched his name on multiple records in the 124-118 win against the Portland Trail Blazers. And for JJ Redick, it was not just the Slovenian but a returning 22-year-old who made a positive influence.

Adou Thiero made his season debut after being sidelined with left knee swelling, during which he missed the first 9 games. The second-year forward provided a major spark in his first shift. And before the game, the Lakers head coach made the expectation very clear. “The biggest thing for him, I think, is number one, being able to just execute.”

And Thiero clearly delivered. That’s why JJ Redick was quick to praise him. “I thought his first two defensive possessions he made mistakes, and then after that he was awesome. He literally did everything, you know, we asked him to do. He was great on the offensive glass. Even sometimes when we didn’t necessarily get the possession, but you know, he was tapping the ball and crashing.

“I thought the read he made out of the short roll. I think they blitzed three times in the first half, and two of those were against him. He makes the short roll, and he gets the lob. So I thought he played a great game and defensively was really good in the second half.”

In sparing minutes of action, the 22-year-old finished with 4 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists. In the first quarter, as the Lakers were trailing 20-13, Adou Thiero was involved in a pick-and-roll action, and he drew Mamu’s and Ziaire’s men. Then he found Ziaire for the lob to reduce the deficit to five.

He even finished with two dunks, and one came off an inch-perfect lob from Luka Doncic. That’s why the short stint from Thiero checked all the right boxes. Not just the head coach but even another Lakers teammate praised the returning star’s impact.

“He definitely raises our defensive ceiling with him being healthy and available,” Jake LaRavia said about Adou Thiero. It’s a similar sentiment that JJ Redick had shared when the 22-year-old was sidelined.

“Adou is capable of being a big part of (our defense),” Redick said Oct. 5. “Where I think his – our ceiling rises is if he’s able to do that and be an impactful offensive player with crashing, with cutting, with touching the paint, playing off two feet. I’ve seen a lot of growth there from him over the last six, seven weeks. That’s exciting.”

In Summer League, Thiero averaged 14.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game. A problem in the same knee where he had surgery pushed back his return timeline. But in his first game back, Adou earned plenty of plaudits. Meanwhile, Luka Doncic put on another spectacular performance Friday night, pouring in 53 points while adding five rebounds and five assists.

After the game, the Lakers coach struggled to find the right words to describe the Slovenian superstar’s brilliance.

“I’m gonna just sit around and will gather one day, come up with more superlatives so I have more words ready. But for now, I don’t have any words,” the Lakers coach answered.

Luka Doncic became the fourth player in franchise history after Elgin Baylor, Kobe Bryant and George Mikan to score at least 40 points in four consecutive games. The 53-point performance also marked the 11th 50-point game of Doncic’s NBA career. He moved past Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and tied Allen Iverson for 10th place on the league’s all-time list.

His latest outing added another milestone to an already remarkable season. Doncic has recorded multiple career games with at least 40 points, five rebounds and five assists. The Slovenian’s season-opening numbers are just as impressive. He has scored 361 points through the Lakers’ first nine games, the highest total in the modern NBA era and the most since Chamberlain exploded for 472 points during the 1962-63 season.

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