Luka Dončić scored 31 points as the Los Angeles Lakers secured a 120-108 home victory over the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference.

The 26-year-old Slovenian dropped 21 points in the opening quarter and reached the milestone of 200 career 30-point games, also contributing nine rebounds and seven assists.

Austin Reaves chipped in with 22 points for the Lakers, who were without the injured LeBron James and Rui Hachimura.

The Nuggets, missing Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray due to injuries, couldn’t recover after trailing 46-29 at the end of the first quarter, allowing the Lakers to leapfrog them into third place in the standings.

Dončić, who joined the Lakers from the Dallas Mavericks in February, has now scored 30 points or more in eight of his 16 games since the trade.

“Like I always say, every day gets better,” Dončić told ESPN after the win.

“That’s three wins in a row now, so we’ve just got to keep it going.

“We take it game-by-game because if you think too far ahead, you might overlook the next one. We know the [standings] are tight, but we just have to win every game.”

The Lakers’ 46-point first quarter was their highest of the season, while Dončić’s 21 points marked his most in any quarter for the Lakers.

In the Eastern Conference, the Cleveland Cavaliers remain in first place but suffered a 123-119 loss to the Sacramento Kings, their third consecutive defeat.

DeMar DeRozan scored 27 points for the Kings against the Cavaliers, who had seen their franchise-record 16-game win streak snapped by the Orlando Magic over the weekend.