LeBron James was off colour with the ball, missing all four of his three-point shots as the LA Lakers were handed a 109-80 defeat at Minnesota on Monday night.
James has missed his last 19 attempts from long range as the Lakers slipped up a 12-9 start under rookie coach J.J. Redick.
“I wouldn’t say I’ll take it. I would never want to say that,” James said. “It is what it is. This is our record. We’ve just got to continue to get better at both ends of the floor.”
Veteran James’ average of 22 points per game is his lowest since he was a rookie 21 years ago.
“We’re just not good offensively right now. I think we spent so much time trying to get our defense corrected that our offense took a toll and took a back seat to that,” he said.
“It’s just a rhythm. I just feel off rhythm the last few games.”
James’ goal of playing in all 82 games this season is still intact, but his recent performances have raised the question about whether such a quest would be wise for the legend who turns 40 later this month.
“We are measuring the players, and we can tell if a guy is running hot or whatever,” coach Redick said. “He does a remarkable job of taking care of his body and getting recovery. I don’t know if that’s in the best interest of us and him if he does that, but if he’s feeling well and good then he should play.”
Celtics back to winning ways
Elsewhere on Monday night, Jaylen Brown scored 29 points and Payton Pritchard scored 25 off the bench as the Boston Celtics beat the Miami Heat 108-89.
Derrick White added 19 points as the defending NBA champions won for the eighth time in nine games.
Miami scored the first seven points and then went cold while the Celtics ran off 17 of the next 19 points to take the lead. Boston made it a double-digit lead early in the second quarter and went up by 20 in the third.
