The Los Angeles Lakers ended up losing on the road against the Brooklyn Nets on Monday night by a final score of 111-108. With LeBron James sitting out, the Lakers just didn't do enough to pull off the win.
With the loss, Los Angeles dropped to 40-23 on the season. They're still one of the hottest teams in the NBA, but this was a tough loss against a team they should have beat.
As for the Nets, Brooklyn improved to 22-42 with the win.
Across the roster, the Lakers struggled. Gabe Vincent put together a strong performance with 24 points on 8-for-12 shooting, but Luka Doncic struggled with his efficiency.
Doncic ended up scoring 22 points to go along with 12 rebound sand 12 assists, but he shot just 8-for-26 from the floor and 3-for-10 from the three-point line.
Usually, when James is forced to miss a game, Los Angeles depends on Austin Reaves to step up. That didn't end up happening against the Nets.
Reaves scored 17 points, dished out 10 assists, and grabbed eight rebounds, but he struggled shooting the ball as well. He shot just 3-for-14 and 1-for-5 from three-point range.
Following the game, Reaves spoke out with a blunt take about his performance and how he needs to play when James misses a game.
"When Bron's out, I gotta be better, and I wasn't," Reaves said.
Every team and player has a bad game from time to time. Reaves knows what his role is and fans can expect to see him come out with a chip on his shoulder on Thursday night against the Milwaukee Bucks.
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This story was originally published March 11, 2025 at 12:04 AM.