The Lakers couldn’t get it done Monday night in Brooklyn, falling 111-108 to a Nets team in 12th place in the Eastern Conference. Even with Luka Doncic posting another triple-double, the short-handed Lakers didn’t have enough firepower without LeBron James, who sat out with his groin strain.
Doncic put up some nice-looking numbers – 22 points, 12 rebounds, and 12 assists – marking his second triple-double since joining the Lakers. But, those stats didn’t translate to a win, as LA dropped to 40-23 on the season. Donic had five turnovers and struggled against Brooklyn’s pressure defense.
Doncic Under Fire
The criticism of Doncic by fans has been growing louder, and Monday’s performance won’t silence it. He shot a rough 8-for-26 from the field and an even worse 3-of-10 from downtown against the Nets. Doncic’s shooting just 39.9% since joining the Lakers, including 32.2% on his three-point attempts. That isn’t what fans expected following the blockbuster trade.
Doncic’s poor shooting wasn’t helped by his inability to get to the foul line. He only attempted four free throws, and complained to the referees throughout the game. That led to his fourth technical since coming to L.A. Doncic notably drew the ire of ESPN’s Brian Windhorst for his constant complaints during last season’s NBA Finals.
“It wasn’t fair. But we still got to still play the game,” Doncic said. “I got to keep playing the game. But it was a lot.”
No Shortcuts to Success
Lakers head coach JJ Redick didn’t pull any punches when assessing his team’s effort. “I don’t think being shorthanded is an excuse for how we played basketball tonight,” Redick said. “I think it was just an overall mentality to take shortcuts tonight, we just wanted to take shortcuts.”
The Lakers were outscored 32-19 in the second quarter as they blew an early 15-point lead. The Nets dominated Los Angeles on the offensive glass 16-8 and forced the Lakers into 15 turnovers, leading to 19 Brooklyn points.
“Should have made better decisions on that one,” Doncic said. “I started the game doing a really good job with the decisions and then just kind of got out of it.”
Injury Concerns Mounting as Playoff Race Tightens
Though Redick wouldn’t use the Lakers’ injuries as an excuse, the Lakers are without a lot of key contributors. Los Angeles could be without its starting front court for a while as James recovers, along with center Jaxson Hayes (knee), forward Rui Hachimura (knee), and backup Dorian Finney-Smith (ankle). That puts tremendous pressure on the team’s perimeter players to step up in their absence.
For the most part, they were able to do that against the Nets.
Gabe Vincent scored 24 points, his most as a Laker, on 8-for-12 shooting. Rookie Dalton Knecht added 19 and two-way call up Jordan Goodwin came off the bench to score 17 with a career-best five three pointers to go along with eight rebounds.
However, the loss dropped the Lakers into a tie with Memphis in the Western Conference standings, with both teams just one game ahead of the fifth place Houston Rockets.
Los Angeles remains on the road with a difficult back-to-back against the Milwaukee Bucks and Denver Nuggets on Thursday and Friday before facing the Phoenix Suns in a Sunday matinee. As far as Redick is concerned, this is the price winners have to pay.
“Want to be a good team? You want to win in the NBA? You got to do the hard stuff,” Redick continued. “We couldn’t even pass to each other…I don’t know what we’re doing.”
The spotlight will be on Doncic while the Lakers try to hold on to home court advantage as they wait for reinforcements to arrive.
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