The Los Angeles Lakers lost a nailbiter to the Charlotte Hornets, with the final box score reading 100-97 in favor of the Hornets. One of the key turning points of the match was Austin Reaves getting his second technical foul and being ejected from the game. Speaking after the game, LeBron James revealed Reaves’ ejection had a negative impact on the team, and played a part in their loss last night.
“Obviously, it deflated us a bit. You lose a big piece like that… He had every right to argue the missed call. But what he said after that, I don’t think it warranted him being kicked out… He said the F-Bomb too many times, but he said it in the beginning, and he left it alone… I think Rodney said he said it again, but he didn’t say it again.”
LeBron James showed support to Austin Reaves in the immediate aftermath of the ejection. Clearly, the King feels that the call cost the Lakers a win. But the fact of the matter is, while LeBron may be right, the Hornets are a much weaker team than the Lakers. The franchise just played poorly in the second half and allowed LaMelo Ball, Miles Bridges, and the rest of the Hornets to take over.
Before his ejection, Austin Reaves was struggling offensively, putting up just eight points (3-9 FG), two rebounds, two assists, one steal, and two blocks in 27 minutes. Reaves’ presence on the court may not have helped the Lakers all that much given how many shots he was missing.
However, Reaves is one of the best offensive players on the Lakers, and at the very least, he would have drawn more defensive attention away from other players, giving the Lakers an opening to try and make some big shots and win the game down the stretch.
LeBron James Did His Best To Win The Game
LeBron James is perhaps the player least deserving of blame when it comes to the Lakers’ loss. The 22-year NBA veteran put on a great performance with 26 points (10-22 FG), seven rebounds, 11 assists, one steal, and two blocks. While his 4-11 shooting from beyond the arc wasn’t ideal, he was the Lakers’ second-best shooter beyond the arc, making about 36.3% of his shots from range.
James missed two attempts from deep that could have tied the game and sent the Lakers to overtime.
Those misses will certainly haunt LeBron, who could have given his team another chance to get the win. But he did everything that he possibly could to keep them in the game, including a scoring outburst late in the fourth quarter that saw him dunk on Mark Williams, who almost became his teammate before the Lakers rescinded the trade over a failed medical.
LeBron and the Lakers will try to shake off the loss as they travel to Portland today to take on the Trail Blazers. Playing in a back-to-back is not the ideal bounce-back scenario, but James and the other players will be hungry for revenge.
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