LeBron James spoke candidly after the Lakers‘ 119-118 loss to the Magic. When talking about the late missed free throws by him and Anthony Davis, James pushed back and claimed that the loss can’t be pinned on to the misses, and the entire team’s lackluster effort in the third quarter set them up to lose the game.
“No [the game wasn’t lost on free throws]. We had our chances, but they played well. Obviously, the biggest bucket of the night was Franz [Wagner]. But we put ourselves in a position to win the game; we just didn’t come through…”
“Because it’s a 48-minute game, you can’t just point to the free throws. Those are obviously the ones you want to close out the game. We had our chances, we missed them, and you move on.”
“But what we did in the third quarter got outscored 29-21. We came out, lost a 7-point lead from the half, and they took the lead in the third. There were a lot of things in between the game; you can’t just point to one thing. Obviously, you have your opportunity at the free-throw line; we didn’t capitalize. Cool. We move on from that.”
LeBron on where the game was lost:
"It's a 48 minute game. You can't just point to the free throws." pic.twitter.com/zPHCJl7xAt
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) November 22, 2024
LeBron James also addressed some other topics after the game, which you can check out here below.
On whether Magic’s physicality overwhelmed the Lakers:
“Nah. We scored 118 points. Shot 50% from the field. They didn’t stagnate us. They’re definitely very good defensively. But we got some really good looks.”
On Denver Nuggets being next test:
“Every game is a test. Especially when you’re in the West. Tonight was another one. We didn’t pass the test. We need to get ready for another. And we get ready for the test tomorrow and Saturday. Doesn’t matter the opponent, the West has 11 teams over .500? Every game is a test.”
James also spoke about JJ Redick’s coaching intensity and how sustainable that will be going forward. Clearly, James disagrees with the notion that the team’s free-throw shooting cost them the game tonight.
Despite the missed free throws, LeBron James had a decent game last night. He scored 31 points (12-22 FG), 10 rebounds, seven assists, and one block, while shooting 54.5% from the field, 55.5% from deep, and 50.0% from the free-throw line.
Austin Reaves Won’t Focus Too Much On Loss
Austin Reaves also spoke after the loss. When talking about whether a close game like this hurts more to lose, Reaves noted that all losses hurt the same, and the team didn’t execute the right way in the closing stretches of the game. However, while frustrating, Reaves would rather take the L and move on from it.
“A loss is a loss. Some games you don’t have a chance of winning and you play bad basketball. Tonight, like you said, we put ourselves in the position to win the game and didn’t. Obviously it’s frustrating. It goes in the loss column. And we move on.”
Reaves had an uncharacteristically poor outing tonight, with just nine points, two rebounds, three assists, and one steal. He shot poorly as well, going 3-12 from the field, 1-4 from deep, and 2-5 from the free-throw line.
It was a bad night at the office for the Lakers, but they must do their best not to dwell on such a loss. They have been playing great basketball the last few weeks, including last night, and should try and keep that momentum going.
Especially given they face three tough fixtures coming up against the Nuggets, Suns, and Thunder – three of the best teams in the West. They kick off this tough stretch on Saturday night at 10:30 PM EST when they host the Denver Nuggets. That is a game that the Lakers should prioritize winning.
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