Until Friday night, the Los Angeles Lakers carried an aura of invincibility when games reached crunch time. With a pristine 13-0 record in contests decided by five points or fewer, the team appeared to possess a secret formula for closing out tight games. That perfect streak, however, slammed into a wall named the Milwaukee Bucks, who walked out of Crypto.com Arena with a 105-101 victory and left the Lakers licking their wounds after a night plagued by unforced mistakes.
The primary figure under scrutiny-by his own admission-was Luka Doncic. The Slovenian endured a personal nightmare as he fouled out of a game for the first time since arriving in Los Angeles.
The decisive moment came with just 16.2 seconds remaining on the clock and the score tied. Doni committed his sixth foul while contesting a Kevin Porter Jr. three-point attempt, gifting the Bucks the free throws that ultimately decided the game.
Doncic owns the blame
Rather than deflecting responsibility or criticizing the officiating, as he has done on other occasions, Doncic fully owned the collapse during his postgame press conference.
“It was my first time with six fouls in a long time. That’s on me; I can’t foul on a three-point shot,” admitted the guard, who finished with 24 points but struggled mightily, shooting a painful 32 percent from the field (8-of-25). “It was just a terrible day for me.”
Giannis vs. LeBron: the final showdown
While Doni struggled on defense, the drama shifted to the other end of the floor in a clash of titans. LeBron James, who led the Lakers with 26 points, nine rebounds, and 10 assists, tried to will his team back in the final possessions. Instead, he ran headfirst into the Greek wall.
Giannis Antetokounmpo (21 points) delivered on the defensive end, blocking a LeBron layup attempt and then stripping him of the ball on two consecutive possessions in the final minute. Those defensive plays sealed the Lakers’ fate, as Los Angeles lost for the first time this season a game in which it had held a lead in the fourth quarter.
Head coach JJ Redick attempted to downplay the rough outing from his Slovenian star, reminding everyone that even MVP-caliber players have off nights. Still, with the Lakers having dropped six of their last 10 games, the pressure is beginning to mount in Los Angeles to rediscover the consistency that once defined them.
Read the full article here
