Luka Doncic is officially 0-2 on the Los Angeles Lakers without LeBron James, falling to a surprise 108-111 loss at the hands of the Brooklyn Nets tonight. This loss ensured the Lakers lost their grip on the No. 2 seed in the West, falling half a game behind the Denver Nuggets with a 40-23 record this season.
Gabe Vincent led the Lakers by putting up 24 points (8-12 FG) in the loss. Despite putting up a triple-double, Luka Doncic struggled with 22 points (8-26 FG), 12 rebounds, and 12 assists. Austin Reaves also struggled despite putting up 17 points (3-14 FG), eight rebounds, and 10 assists. Dalton Knecht put up 19 points (8-18 FG) while Jordan Goodwin put up 17 points (6-8 FG) and eight rebounds off the bench.
Fans weren’t pleased with this loss coming immediately after their loss to the Boston Celtics.
“It’s year 22 and LeBron still can’t sit out games and we have Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves on our team,” said one fan mad about the result without LeBron.
“This Lakers game just proved that LeBron James is the MVP of our league,” said another fan missing LeBron’s production on the court.
“Reaves and Luka were the reason for the loss but we have been a bottom offense since acquiring Luka. JJ needs to be better,” said a fan mad at JJ Redick.
“Reaves has been so f*****g disappointing. You get this much production from the other guys and Luka is getting doubled to hell and you can’t capitalize whatsoever,” said one fan who placed the blame on Reaves.
“Btw Luka is actually washed. Not at all generating the same driving and finishing angles while failing to dictate half-court offense and being a much sloppier passer. He isn’t good anymore, but the memories were nice,” said a fan blaming Luka and calling him washed compared to the star we saw last season in Dallas.
“Why I still feel good; – LeBron coming back – Jaxson Hayes coming back – Rui coming back – DFS coming back – Legit all our size was cooked – Luka looking in shape – Gabe looking playoff ready. WE GOOD,” said one fan writing this loss off due to the widespread injuries on the Lakers roster.
The Nets rode a well-rounded team performance to this win. Noah Clowney led them in scoring off the bench with 19 points (5-11 FG) while Cam Johnson put up 18 points (6-14 FG), seven rebounds, five assists, and three steals. Keon Johnson put up 18 points (6-10 FG), while Tyrese Martin came off the bench for 14 points (5-14 FG).
This win ended a seven-game losing streak for the Nets, who now have a 22-42 record this season. Their tanking season has been affected with quality wins like tonight, but it goes to show how strong Jordi Fernandez can be as a coach. Once the Nets are back in win-now mode, wins like tonight will give Fernandez the hope to compete against the best with similar-caliber players.
The Lakers will hope to end their unwitting two-game losing streak against the Milwaukee Bucks on this road trip on Thursday next.
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