LeBron James cuts an annoyed figure as LA Lakers lose close contest against 76ers
LA Lakers superstar LeBron James was extremely unhappy with the outcome of the team's recent game against the Philadelphia 76ers. As Purple and Gold came away with a gut-wrenching 112-113 loss, James expressed his thoughts on the team's display.
The LA Lakers fell short in the closing seconds of the game yet again. After a heartbreaking double OT loss to the Dallas Mavericks in their previous outing, the Lakers suffered more misery on Sunday night.
Coming up short in the dying seconds of the game against the 76ers, the Lakers fell to 19-24 on the season. Needless to say, the loss cannot be attributed to a single thing, as the Lakers played without several key players. However, late-game execution remains a weakness for this team.
The night itself was expected to be a celebration as LeBron James became the second player to cross 38,000 career points in NBA history. Unfortunately, the game left a bad taste in the team's mouth as their last offensive play resulted in an unfortunate miss.
Russell Westbrook has caught a lot of flak from the public and media for his decision to take the lost shot himself. While the mistake did cost the Lakers the game, there was a lot more that needed to be addressed.
James offered a rather harsh but straightforward response about the Lakers' display in the dying seconds of the fourth-quarter. He said:
"We got the stop, gave ourselves a chance to win and didn't execute."
Building upon this statement, James also broke down his thoughts on the loss.
"It's just frustrating getting in those positions and not coming out with a victory."
While keeping his responses extremely short and curt, LBJ practically summed up the sentiments within the locker room and the fandom with the comment:
"We're playing good basketball. We're just not winning games."
"We got the stop, gave ourselves a chance to win and didn't execute." @KingJames on tonight's loss. https://t.co/urLyDsq7ck
James' frustration with the loss is telling and extremely valid. After battling it out and hanging tough for the entirety of the game, Purple and Gold came up short with minor mistakes getting in the way.
Read: Skip Bayless calls out LeBron James for passiveness as Russell Westbrook botches final possession against 76ers
LeBron James couldn't carry the LA Lakers to a win
The LA Lakers saw a historic performance by LeBron James on Sunday night. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to guide the team to a win.
James put on a show for the crowd at the Crypto.com Arena. Starting off hot, James quickly notched a handful of points to cross the 38,000 points threshold. However, this didn't see LeBron slow down his scoring pace.
Ending the night with 35 points, eight rebounds, and 10 assists, LeBron James put on an offensive masterclass against the Philadelphia 76ers. But his effort wasn't enough to carry the Lakers to a win.
The Lakers had fairly solid performances across the board. With Russell Westbrook contributing a triple-double of 20 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists, the Purple and Gold were in great shape. Troy Brown Jr., Thomas Bryant, and Wenyen Gabriel also notched double-digit scoring to aid the effort.
Overall, the Lakers didn't do a whole lot wrong. The problem simply came down to late-game execution. With this issue becoming a bit of a trend, Purple and Gold must look for solutions to prevent another massive losing slide.