Luka Doncic: Lakers 'got a little bit satisfied' during recent eight-game winning streak
The Los Angeles Lakers are in a funk right now, and if they don't end it soon, they will likely find themselves without home-court advantage in any round of the NBA playoffs this spring.
After losing to the Milwaukee Bucks and Chicago Bulls by a combined 60 points, they fell to the Orlando Magic 118-106 on Monday. They were outscored 41-18 during a stretch that spanned the final minute of the second quarter and the entire third quarter, and down the stretch, they simply couldn't get stops or create good looks for themselves offensively.
The eight-game winning streak Los Angeles had in late February and early March is now a fading memory. Luka Doncic, who scored 32 points but shot just 9-of-23 from the field on Monday, said after the game that perhaps his team was complacent.
"I think we just got to look back at the way we played at that 8-game winning streak… I think we just got a little bit satisfied, so we can't afford that right now."
The Lakers are now 43-28, and although they remain in fourth place in the Western Conference, they have the same record as the fifth-place Memphis Grizzlies and are only two games ahead of the sixth-place Golden State Warriors.
They will have a set of back-to-back games on Wednesday and Thursday versus the Indiana Pacers and Chicago Bulls, respectively, before closing out this road trip against the aforementioned Grizzlies on Saturday. Afterward, they will return home and play the Houston Rockets, who are in second place, next Monday and face the Warriors next Thursday.
In other words, it will not be easy for the Lakers to stay in fourth place, let alone climb the standings.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Luka Doncic: Lakers 'got a little bit satisfied' during winning streak
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