'It sucks' says LeBron as Lakers lose momentum with Mavericks defeat
Will Rook
January 8, 2025 20:09 MYT
January 8, 2025 20:09 MYT
LeBron James was frustrated after the Los Angeles Lakers were beaten 118-97 by an under-strength Dallas Mavericks team on Tuesday, their second straight loss in Texas following a defeat to the Houston Rockets last time out.
"I mean, it sucks, obviously, especially knowing where we were and how well we've been playing," LeBron James said after the game, which saw the Lakers drop to sixth in the Western Conference with a 20-16 record.
Prior to their last two games, they had been in fourth with eight wins from their last 11, but things did not improve after a 119-115 defeat in Houston on Sunday.
The Mavericks had lost six of their last seven games and were without Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving and Daniel Gafford, yet outscored the Lakers 63-47 in the second half.
James, who finished with 18 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, credited Mavericks coach Jason Kidd – formerly an assistant with the Lakers – for his "great gameplan", with Austin Reaves specifically targeted.
"I felt like they just put people in pick-and-roll who they wanted in pick-and-roll and they tried to exploit matchups," said James.
"When we got into rotations, we didn't make enough second efforts."
Final pic.twitter.com/Rn5ldNIgTS — Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) January 8, 2025
An error occurred while retrieving the Tweet. It might have been deleted.
Reaves himself did accept responsibility for his poor performance in Dallas.
"The first half was God-awful," said Reaves, who scored 15 points, shooting five-of-14 from the field.
"The second half I thought was better, but I can't allow that. I was just really, really bad on both sides of the ball tonight."
The Lakers are back in Los Angeles for their next eight games, starting with the visit of the Charlotte Hornets on Thursday.
"We got another game in less than 48 hours," said James. "We can't really dwell on it too much. That's the name of the game of the NBA.
"You see what you could've done better, but you got to get ready for the next opponent and we got another game coming on Thursday in our home building."