On Thursday night, Luka Doncic shined the brightest. He tackled the library-shaking rivalry between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Golden State Warriors — a first. Despite an initial spark, the Lakers fell short, losing 123-116, and Doncic took accountability for his performance, deeming it “unacceptable.” This loss marked a key moment for the Lakers in this year’s NBA season. They dropped to fourth place in the Western Conference standings with just six games remaining.
In the first quarter of last night’s game, Doncic took the floor looking like a man possessed, scoring right off the bat on a running finger roll. Still, that doesn’t excuse the way he finished — going 0-for-6 from 3 en route to a 6-for-17 performance overall that resulted in just 19 points. This shooting slump put an end to his exceptional streak of 114 straight games with a made three-pointer. That streak now ranks as the fifth-longest in NBA history.
The Lakers actually went into halftime down 60-47 but came storming back in the second half, putting up a blistering 69 points. That’s when James took over, scoring 25 of his 33 points after halftime. At the same time, Austin Reaves put his stamp all over this quarter, scoring 20 of his 31 points in that span too. Los Angeles clawed their way back into it, overcoming a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit to make it competitive. With just over four minutes left to play they trimmed the deficit to five points.
It didn’t get much higher than that. It obviously felt like a playoff game,” said Doncic about the physicality of Tuesday’s matchup. His remarks underscore just how high the stakes are in this late-season contest, as teams make their push for a playoff spot.
The Lakers are looking ahead to welcoming the short-handed New Orleans Pelicans on Friday. For his part, Doncic took confidence in his shooting rhythm, despite the woeful output. “My jump shot felt pretty good today,” he said, indicating optimism for future performances.
Lakers’ head coach and star player LeBron James remained focused on their own team’s performance and did not delve into talks about rival teams’ championship aspirations. “I got to worry about us. I can’t be worrying about other teams. That ain’t my job,” James stated when asked about Draymond Green’s recent comments regarding the Warriors’ title chances this season.
Looking toward the future, the outlook is grim for the Lakers. Following the Pelicans game they’ll head out on the road for a two game trip. First up, they’ll face the Oklahoma City Thunder, and next, they’ll go head-to-head with Luka Doncic’s old team, the Dallas Mavericks. As it stands, Los Angeles is only a half game behind the third place Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference playoff picture.
The defeat to Golden State serves as evocative of just how cutthroat the league can be. With the regular season entering its final stretch, each game is more important than the last. Doncic’s commitment to improvement and his acknowledgment of his shortcomings will be crucial as he and the Lakers strive to secure a favorable playoff position.
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