The Los Angeles Lakers failed to capitalize on a good performance in the first half, as they blew a 23-point lead and lost to the New Orleans Pelicans in what was a very important game when it comes to the Western Conference standings, with the Pelicans now maintaining their advantage over the Lakers and holding onto the 9th seed for now.
LeBron James had a pretty rough fall on Jaxon Hayes’ foot, which further aggravated his ankle injury. LeBron has been playing with a hurt ankle for almost the entire season and looked like he was in a lot of pain. But James still finished the game, putting on yet another brilliant performance with 39 points, which helped him become the second player in NBA history to reach the 37,000 point mark in his career.
LeBron spoke after the game about the ankle injury and how he was feeling. He noted that his ankle was pretty busted up, and it was going to get worse because the lakers had to catch a flight back to Dallas to prepare for their game on Tuesday against the Dallas Mavericks (0:44 onwards). He also noted that he lost his explosiveness after the injury (5:31 onwards)
“I have no idea I finished the game, to be honest, after watching that. Pretty nasty.”
“It’s horrible. It’s horrible right now. And unfortunately, we’re about to hop on a flight too so, just got to get treatment round the clock and see what happens.”
“I lost all explosiveness. A lot of my game was on the perimeter after that.”
LeBron James and the Lakers are in a pretty tough spot, as this latest loss could prove to be one setback too many for them in their quest to secure a playoff spot. The Lakers have been a disappointment this season, and things could continue to get worse if the Lakers lose LeBron James to an injury.
The Lakers will be hoping to right their course on Tuesday against the Mavericks. The 2020 NBA champions have to start putting together a string of wins if they want to have a solid shot at making the playoffs, even if that is through the play-in tournament.
