How Matas Buzelis unleashed Luka Doncic’s 51-point performance

As Matas Buzelis walked out of the Bulls’ locker room, his agent, Michael Tellem, jokingly ribbed him. “You woke up a sleeping giant,” he said, flashing a smile. 

Buzelis shook his head. 

The 21-year-old forward, who’s in his second season in the NBA, learned a hard lesson in his team’s 142-130 loss to the Lakers on Thursday. 

Trash talk Luka Doncic, and you will pay. 

Doncic erupted for 51 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists, his first 50-point performance as a Laker. He shot 55 percent from the field, including going 9-for-14 from beyond the arc. 

What set him off? 

“Somebody started talking to me,” Doncic said. “So, that woke me up.”

Who?

“Matas Buzelis,” he said. “I was surprised, I was shocked. …I’m not gonna say what he said, But if I said that, I would definitely get a tech.”

Doncic added that Buzelis started the trash talk.

“Yeah,” he said. “Not very nice. I was surprised.”

Buzelis, however, had a different version of events.

“Is that what he said?” asked Buzelis, who had 22 points, six rebounds, two steals and two blocked shots. “Yeah, I’d rather not say what I said. But he said something to me first. That’s why I had to respond. I’m not going to say what he said either. But I feel like I responded to what he said.”

The exchange in question happened in the second quarter. 

Doncic went from scoring 12 points on 4-for-11 shooting in the first quarter, to transforming into a scoring machine. He had 12 points on 5-for-6 shooting in the second. He had 17 points in the third. And he poured in 10 points on 3-for-4 shooting in the fourth. 

Buzelis got under Doncic’s skin. After nearly every made shot, Doncic gesticulated at Buzelis. He talked to him nonstop. He turned into a madman who was hellbent on making Buzelis pay for whatever transgression he committed. 

Doncic turned Buzelis’ words into fodder for his best performance as a Laker. While we don’t know what was said, Lakers coach JJ Redick would be wise to do some reconnaissance so he can learn Doncic’s biggest triggers. Whatever words were spoken unleashed the monster within him. 

As for Buzelis, he was left shellshocked. 

“I don’t even know what to say, honestly,” he said. “He started killing, obviously, when I started talking to him. I don’t back down from anybody, no matter who you are. I took on the challenge. I didn’t execute.”

Buzelis picked the wrong guy to mess with Thursday. 

Doncic has been on a tear as of late, shooting about 43 percent from beyond the arc since the All-Star break. Since returning from a hamstring injury Feb. 20 which sidelined him four games, Doncic has scored 40 or more points three times. 

He’s leading the league in points (32.9) and is third in assists (8.5). And over the last few weeks, he has helped the Lakers climb from sixth in the West to third. Behind Doncic, the Lakers have won seven of their last eight games, including four straight contests. 

“He’s playing as well as anybody in the NBA right now,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “It’s probably not being talked about enough.”

The thing about Doncic is he’s fiery, He’s reactive. And he has had a tough week.

News broke Wednesday that Doncic has separated from his fiance, who he has been with since 2016. They’re in a custody battle over their two daughters, who are living in Slovenia with their mother.

Doncic tried to take his mind off of things Wednesday. He spent the day at UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital hanging out with cancer patients. Before Thursday’s game, he wore a shirt signed by the children he met.

“In the end of the day, you go there and then you realize that you don’t really have problems in your life at all,” he said. “Health is a lot. It’s the most important thing in life. So you realize you don’t have problems at all. So just having interaction with them yesterday, it was super, super amazing, super chill. I really appreciate it.”

Doncic was already feeling inspired Thursday.

Buzelis unwittingly took a match to the flame. 

What transpired didn’t surprise Austin Reaves, who constantly exchanges lighthearted barbs with Doncic, and regularly witnesses the fallout when opposing players poke the superstar.

“It’s fun and it’s funny at the same time, because half the time I don’t even know what the hell he’s saying,” said Reaves, who had 30 points, five rebounds and seven assists. “It’s never in English.

“…He’s a competitor at the end of the day and he wants to win as badly as anybody. When somebody goes at him, we like the aggression he plays with and how he channels it. So I’ll continue to do that to try to make him mad.”

As for Buzelis, he just happened to poke the wrong bear. 

He’s not known as a pot stirrer. But whatever he said made the pot boil. 

When it comes to Doncic, his biggest takeaway going forward?

“Probably not to talk to him,” Buzelis said. 

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