Overview
- Luka Doncic finished with 44 points, 12 rebounds and six assists, becoming the only player besides Wilt Chamberlain to open a season with three straight 40-point games.
- Los Angeles rallied from a 16-point halftime deficit to win 117-112, moving to 4-2 overall and 1-0 in group play, with the five-point margin notable for Cup point-differential tiebreakers.
- Austin Reaves added 21 points after a three-game stretch in which he posted 51 and 41 points plus a buzzer-beater while Doncic was sidelined by a finger sprain and leg contusion.
- Marcus Smart returned from a quad contusion to start and contribute 12 points, four assists and two steals as Ja Morant was held to eight points on 3-of-14 shooting.
- Starting center Deandre Ayton missed the second half with what coach J.J. Redick called middle back spasms, and LeBron James remains out with right-side sciatica with a mid-November return projected.