For the third straight game, the Los Angeles Lakers faced a matchup that carried heavy playoff implications. They went up against the Golden State Warriors, a team that started the day in fifth place in the Western Conference, while they were two games ahead of the Warriors in third place with a 46-29 record.
This was billed as an early playoff-type battle at Crypto.com Arena. But after a hot start, the Lakers were unable to consistently hit shots, as if the Warriors had banished them to the tundra. During one stretch in the first and second quarters, they missed 11 straight shot attempts, which seemed to set the tone for this contest.
They shot just 35.7% from the field in the first half and 34.7% in the third quarter, and they consistently trailed by double digits starting late in the second quarter. Los Angeles managed to get loose enough to score 39 points in the fourth quarter and made an 11-2 run at one point to come to within five points. But even though it hit a barrage of 3-pointers late, it couldn't get stops or defensive rebounds often enough to prevent a 123-116 loss.
Defensive rebounding — or the lack thereof — was also a huge problem for L.A. Overall, it got outrebounded 46-39, and it gave up 14 offensive rebounds, which led to 23 Golden State second-chance points.
The Lakers have now fallen to fourth place in the Western Conference. If they were tired — plenty of their outside shots seemed short — they won't get a respite, as they will play the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday before an early game on Sunday at the mighty Oklahoma City Thunder, who have a 64-12 record.
Rui Hachimura: A
Hachimura gave the Lakers the type of lift they needed. He scored 24 points on 9-of-15 overall shooting and made half of his six 3-point attempts. He also got six rebounds and added three assists, and late in the game, he moved well without the ball, which allowed him to spring loose for a couple of easy baskets.
Jaxson Hayes: D
With the Warriors going small, one would've thought that perhaps Hayes would've had a good evening offensively with the Lakers feeding him for several easy baskets. But he wasn't effective at all offensively, and he wasn't able to use his height and length near the basket to his advantage.
He scored only two points on 1-of-4 shooting, and even worse, he mustered just three rebounds in 15 minutes.
Austin Reaves: A
Reaves did his best to give the Lakers a real shot at victory. He hit back-to-back 3-pointers to start the game, and he did a nice job on the boards in the first half when the Lakers were struggling with five rebounds. He attempted just one shot each in the second and third quarters, but in the fourth quarter, he came on strong.
He went 7-of-11 from the field to score 20 points in the final quarter, and in crunch time, he turned into a flamethrower. In the final 86 seconds, he made three treys, all of which were difficult shots, to try to keep L.A. in the game.
He finished with 31 points on 10-of-20 overall shooting and 9-of-16 from downtown, with six of his treys coming in the final period. Reaves also had six rebounds, three assists and one steal in 40 minutes.
Luka Doncic: D
Doncic simply couldn't get things going offensively. He was 3-of-11 from the field in the first half, and things didn't get much better afterward. He missed all six of his ...
