The Los Angeles Lakers march to a 50-win season and a top-four seed was hurt tonight as the franchise fell to a 116-123 loss against rivals Golden State Warriors. The Crypto.com Arena faithful are used to seeing the Lakers have the better of the Warriors in the Anthony Davis era, but the first game against the Warriors in the Luka Doncic era turned out to be a disaster for the Slovenian guard.
The Lakers were led by an impressive 33 points (10-15 FG) and nine assists by LeBron James, with Austin Reaves contributing 31 points (10-20 FG). Rui Hachimura took the role of third option tonight, scoring 24 points (9-15 FG) as Luka struggled with 19 points (6-17 FG), eight rebounds, and seven assists with really poor defense.
Fans were alarmed by Doncic's level of play, slamming the Lakers star for being the principal reason behind this loss.
"Luka's worst game as a Laker, bro. Of course, it’s today, dude," said a Lakers fan about this contest.
"I'm waiting for Luka to match LeBron's intensity," said a Lakers media member, shocked at the lack of urgency in Doncic's play.
"Way too easy for these teams to either get Luka on the perimeter or Austin stuck alone in the post. Just put the points on the board," pointed out a Lakers fan as their defense fell apart.
"If AD had a game like Luka at least he’s playing All-NBA defense. Luka is just on the court being fat," said one angry fan about Doncic's pathetic defense to go with his lacklustre offense.
"Watching Luka play makes the trade reactions from Mavs fans so confusing," said one fan who doesn't understand why Mavericks fans were upset at losing a version of Doncic who looks like a shadow of the player we saw last year.
"End of the day, the story will be Luka no-showing. Any analysis outside of that will be noise," said a media member who wants Doncic to accept the blame for this loss.
The Warriors continue looking like top-tier contenders when both Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler III share the court together. Curry put up 37 points (10-21 FG) and six assists, while Butler had a quiet 11 points (4-7 FG) with three steals. Butler's defensive impact on the Warriors' perimeter is especially notable, as he's filled in a lot of the gaps that previously existed without over-exerting himself on offense.
Brandin Podziemski had a signature night with 28 points (10-17 FG), eight rebounds, and six assists, having a phenomenal two-way game. Jonathan Kuminga's 18 points (7-12 FG) and nine rebounds off the bench should be commended as well, with Draymond Green continuing to play at a DPOY level.
This loss drops the Lakers to 46-30 while the Warriors improve to 45-31. This more or less kills the Lakers' push for the No. 2 seed and drops them half a game behind the No. 3 seeded Denver Nuggets. They're also within arms reach of the chasing pack of West Playoff teams such as the Warriors, LA Clippers, and Minnesota Timberwolves.
