For the second time this week, the Los Angeles Lakers come up short to the Spurs.
Both losses the Los Angeles Lakers suffered this week to the San Antonio Spurs were nail biters, but there was a stark contrast between the way both games played out. Earlier this week the Lakers lost because their defense did not come thru, this time around it was the offense sputtering that led to a loss.
The Lake Show stormed out the gate early by pushing the pace, moving the ball in the halfcourt, and getting out in transition. At one point the Lakers had a 14-point lead, but the Spurs were able to trim this down to six at halftime, 60-54. Even the third quarter was not that bad for the Lakers, collecting 28 for the quarter and grasping a one-point lead.
The fourth is where things started to go so south, matching their fewest quarter output of the season with 18 ( previous being the fourth quarter against the Houston Rockets opening night). Their defense was solid and gave them plenty of opportunities, and if it weren’t for DeMar DeRozan hitting a tough 15-footer over Josh Hart with 15 seconds left, this might be a different article entirely.
Time after time the Lakers offense fell flat late, ditching the ball movement and player cutting that has been a tremendous contributor to them averaging 122.3 points per game; the Lakers resorted to isolations and contested jump shots.
For the final six and a half minutes of the game, the Lakers shot 3-12 from the field, with Josh Hart and LeBron James being the only two Lakers to make a field goal. While King James did play fantastic once again, totaling: 35 points on 21 shots, 11 rebounds, and four assists. Down the stretch the Lakers became too reliant on LeBron James, resulting in several possessions where Laker players were caught standing around watching.
It seemed that every play down the stretch resulted in a LeBron isolation, where the Lakers had to rely on contested jump shots to bail them out. Nine of the Lakers last 13 shots of the game were jump shots while going 1-3 in the paint during the same span.
While the Lakers had a solid effort on the defensive end, the Spurs ended up with too many easy opportunities in the paint, giving up 52 points in the paint. LaMarcus Aldridge was able to bully JaVale McGee, LeBron, and Kyle Kuzma downtown, always backing down his defender to within feet of the basket.
Pau Gasol also made an impact with 11 points off the bench, getting buckets in the same manner Aldridge would, deep in the paint. DeRozan was a problem that couldn’t be solved as well, coming up with 30 points and 14 rebounds while hitting mid-range shot after mid-range shot.
Rajon Rondo had a chance with about 10 seconds to trim the lead to one but passed up a wide-open layup, kicking out to LeBron, who missed a contested three. The Lakers were out of timeouts, so it is understandable why Rondo avoided the two and went for three.
However, there could have been seven or eight seconds left to go full court and tie or win the game if the Lakers had fouled San Antonio. Playing a game of what-ifs will not help the wound heal, but the decision by Rondo wasn’t as crazy as it initially looked.
Overall it is disappointing to drop a game in which we led for over 40 minutes, as every game matters in the Western Conference playoff race. Despite crawling to the finish, the Lakers had their opportunities to stay in the game. With Brandon Ingram coming back Monday the Lakers will be at full strength, and hopefully, the team can get back on track with a win in Minnesota Monday night.