Thursday night delivered one of the standout moments of the NBA season, at the expense of the Los Angeles Lakers. Coming off of a buzzer-beater win over the Indiana Pacers, the Lakers looked set to pick up another road victory against the Chicago Bulls. But with a five-point lead with 12.1 seconds left in the game, pure chaos unfolded.
The Bulls hit two three-pointers in the span of six seconds, helped by a LeBron James turnover on an inbound pass. Austin Reaves then scored a go-ahead bucket, but Josh Giddey sent the home crowd into pandemonium with a halfcourt buzzer-beater. It was a crushing loss for the Lakers, made worse by James playing a key role in the collapse. James had left Patrick Williams wide open on the three-pointer that made it 115-113, too.
LeBron James blames himself for late mistakes in Lakers-Bulls
James could have blamed the whole team for the loss when he was asked about the game after it finished. While he did concede they blew it, he owned up to both of his mistakes, showcasing his accountability.
We put ourselves in a position to win. Gave up a lot of threes in the fourth quarter. We still put ourselves in a position to win. Horrible turnover by myself. Bad miscommunication. Play before that. AR still made a big bucket trying to save us. And then, tip your hat if someone makes a game-winner from half-court.
James kept mentioning several times in his postgame interview that the team put itself in a position to win the game, but they simply didn’t. He was particularly perturbed that they gave up 44 points in the fourth quarter.
LeBron didn’t have his best game on the night. He only scored 17 points on 8-20 shooting and turned the ball over four times. Of course, the most important turnover came on a crucial play in the game. Ultimately, it may have led to the loss. James knows that, so expect him to come out firing in the next game.
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