MVP contender named NBA player of the month

NEW YORK — The NBA on Tuesday announced that Luka Doncic was named the Western Conference Player of the Month for games played in January. 

Doncic averaged a league-best 34 points to go with 9.1 assists and 7.2 rebounds in the 15 games he played in the month. 

The Lakers went 9-7 in January, ending the month winners in four of their six games before opening February with a loss to the New York Knicks in Madison Square Garden. 

The Lakers went 9-6 in games Doncic played in January.

Doncic had a few of his best performances of the season in January: a 38 point-13 rebound-10 assist triple-double in the “Grammy” trip-opening win over the Denver Nuggets on Jan. 20; 46 points on 60% shooting (57.1% on 3-pointers) to go with 12 assists and seven rebounds in the Jan. 26 win over the Bulls; 37 points, 13 assist, 11 rebounds and three steals in the Jan. 30 win over the Wizards. 

After struggling with his shot to start the season, Doncic bounced back in January, shooting 39.2% from beyond the arc on nearly 10 attempts (9.9).

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The January Player of the Month honor was Doncic’s first of the season. Denver Nuggets star center Nikola Jokic was the West’s Player of the Month for games played in October/November and Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander received the honor for games played in December.

Boston Celtics wing Jaylen Brown was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Month for January.

Doncic is in the midst of the MVP race, especially with uncertainty whether Jokic, a three-time MVP, will reach the 65-game threshold to be eligible for end-of-season awards. 

The 26-year-old Doncic entered Tuesday’s road game against the Brooklyn Nets averaging a league-best 33.6 points to go with 8.8 assists, eight rebounds and 1.4 steals.