For the tenth time in his young career, Luka Doncic posted a 40-point triple-double, dominating the Utah Jazz in every aspect of the night. He controlled the game from the floor to the crowd. Yet even amid a brilliant season, his performances are often clouded by familiar criticism, with claims that he hunts fouls or complains too much. But as a neutral fan watching, David Locke saw it differently.

For him, Luka Doncic is just that good. Tonight, he shot 16 free throws. Locke feels he earned each one of them.

“The way I describe him is his disc jockey who’s playing a record, and he’s record scratchy the whole time,” he said on Locked on Jazz. “He plays in this manner that’s so unnatural that anytime a player against him tries to predict what he’s going to do, they end up fouling him because he’s in complete control on balance at all times.”

Understandably, it gets frustrating for opponents. Doncic is averaging the most free throws per game at 12.1. However, he’s always looking to make the bucket first. His “genius,” as Locke calls it, forces defenders to bite at every move. As for him enforcing himself on the officials, the Jazz analyst feels that’s just nitpicking.

“You want my honest take on this? He’s kicking your a–. So, it pisses you off,” Locke added.

Having gone through an impressive physical transformation, Luka Doncic is having the best season of his career. In 20 games, he’s averaging a league-leading 35.2 points per game while shooting 46.3% from the field. He’s quicker and stronger, making it a nightmare for defenders to guard him. But it isn’t just his scoring that makes him lethal.

How Luka Doncic dismantled the Utah Jazz

If free throws are the issue, the Jazz held that rare advantage over the Lakers tonight. They went to the charity stripe 47 times, but missed 16 of their shots. But that would also be nitpicking. The Jazz, without Lauri Markannen, pushed the Purple and Gold to the brink. Only an outburst could save them. And up stepped Luka Doncic.

He scored 10 in the fourth quarter, to go with 3 assists. Two of those gave Marcus Smart open looks from three, which he sank. After being down the entire game, the Lakers led by as much as 12 in the final quarter. But even the climb to having a fighting chance was staged by the five-time All-NBA selection.

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Luka Doncic had 14 assists on the night. That added 32 points to the Lakers. So the 26-year-old directly contributed to 77 of the Lakers’ 143 points. Do that math, and that’s over 50% of the total output coming from having the ball in Luka Doncic’s hands.

Defense hasn’t been a strong point for the Lakers this season. The Jazz shot 48.6% from beyond the arc and made 18. Still, Doncic produced five steals on the night. Keyonte George was having a splendid night against any other defender. But while Doncic didn’t play splendid defense, he did hold George to 2-6 from the field when guarding him.

As much as the Lakers have struggled against the Jazz this season, Doncic seems to be their ‘get out of jail’ card each time.