Doncic scores 53 to push his average past 40; Curry passes LeBron for 40-point games after 35

Two of the NBA's best-known scorers produced the numbers of the weekend. On Friday night, Luka Doncic scored 53 points as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Portland Trail Blazers 124-118, lifting his season scoring average to 40.1 points a game. On Saturday night, Stephen Curry scored 41 in a 126-119 overtime win over the Orlando Magic, a game that, by the Associated Press count, gave him more 40-point games after age 35 than anyone in league history.

One correction to a version of this story circulating online: Curry did not pass LeBron James on the all-time list of 40-point games. The record he took is narrower, and the numbers below show exactly which one.

Doncic: 53 points, 17-of-33 shooting

According to the ESPN recap, Doncic scored 53 at Crypto.com Arena in an NBA Cup game that the Lakers trailed by 16 in the second quarter. The box score has him at 38 minutes, 17-of-33 from the field, 5-of-15 on threes, 14-of-18 at the line, with five rebounds and five assists. He scored 20 in the third quarter, when the Lakers erased Portland's lead, and hit a jumper in the lane with 28 seconds left to hold off a Portland rally. Austin Reaves added 25 and Walker Kessler had 16 points and 12 rebounds. Deni Avdija led Portland with 22 points and 11 assists.

The AP recap, as published by ESPN, describes it as Doncic's 11th career 50-point game and his fourth as a Laker. It was also his fourth consecutive 40-point game, which put him with Elgin Baylor, Kobe Bryant and George Mikan as the only Lakers to do that in regular-season play. He also passed Mikan for fifth place on the franchise's list of 40-point games.

The number behind the 40.1

We checked the average against ESPN's game log rather than the headline. Doncic has played nine games this season. His scores, oldest to newest: 28, 23, 52, 41, 37, 45, 42, 40, 53. They sum to 361, and 361 divided by nine is 40.1, matching the season line ESPN lists (12.2 field goals made on 24.6 attempts per game, 41.9% from three, 87.3% at the line).

Two things the average hides. First, it is a nine-game sample: the opening two games (28 and 23) were far below the pace, and the average is the product of a seven-game run since then in which he has scored 37 or more every night and 40 or more six times. Second, it is a pace, not a trend line. Last season he finished the games he played at 33.5, a mark the same ESPN data shows over 64 games. Nine games is not enough to say whether he can hold the number over a full season.

Curry: 41 points, and a record that needs its fine print

Curry's night at Chase Center: 36 minutes, 13-of-19 from the field, 5-of-10 on threes, a perfect 10-of-10 at the line, six rebounds and six assists. The ESPN box score lists a plus-11. He made a three-point play with 1:38 left in overtime and a layup in the final minute. The win was Golden State's seventh in a row after an 0-3 start, its longest streak since March 2025.

The AP recap says it was Curry's second 40-point game of the season and his 16th 40-point effort after age 35, the most in NBA history. It lists LeBron James at 15 and Michael Jordan at 12. That is the record. It is not the career total: Curry's career count of 40-point games is a separate, larger figure, and we could not confirm a single current career total across sources, so we do not print one. The AP also reported that Curry, 38 and in his 18th season, became the seventh player with 26,000 points, 5,000 rebounds and 6,000 assists, citing ELIAS.

What it means

For the Lakers, who have won four straight, the story is concentration of scoring. Doncic's 53 came on 33 shots in a game where the team missed its first 15 three-point attempts into the second quarter, so his output was carrying the offense when little else worked. For Golden State, a team that began 0-3, Curry at 38 is still producing 40-point games while the club climbs back; the next test is Monday against Charlotte at home, per the AP. Lakers play at Detroit on Sunday.

Follow the schedule and results on our NBA schedule and NBA scores pages. Additional reporting on the Doncic game is available from Yahoo Sports and Sports Illustrated.

Sources: ESPN box scores and Associated Press recaps for Trail Blazers at Lakers (Nov. 6, 2026) and Magic at Warriors (Nov. 7, 2026); ESPN player game log and season averages for Luka Doncic; Yahoo Sports; Sports Illustrated. Figures as published at the time of writing. This is sports information, not betting or investment advice.