Luka Doncic blamed himself for the Los Angeles Lakers’ 123-116 loss to the Golden State Warriors, describing his performance as “unacceptable”.
Doncic failed to hit a three-pointer – ending a 114-game run of at least one from behind the arc – and shot just six-for-17 and 19 points overall as the Lakers slipped to fourth in the Western Conference standings with six games left in the regular season.
Final pic.twitter.com/fUS27goXGh
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) April 4, 2025
The Slovenian superstar has not yet hit his best form since moving from the Dallas Mavericks and this was another sub-par showing.
“That performance from me was unacceptable,” Doncic said. “When I play like that, that makes [it] harder [for the team] to win, so just got to figure that out.”
He also refused to blame an apparent injury to his left elbow, that was heavily strapped.
“It’s fine,” Doncic said. “That’s my left [arm], so it’s fine. I was shooting with the right. It [just] looked like [the] left.”
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Doncic knows is time to step up
Doncic makes his first return to Dallas on Wednesday but before that the Lakers take on the New Orleans Pelicans tonight before a two-game set at the Oklahoma City Thunder.
And Doncic knows it is getting to the crunch time of the season.
“It obviously felt like a playoff game,” Doncic said. “Obviously, the Warriors, since they acquired Jimmy [Butler], they’ve been playing unbelievably. So it was kind of playoff game and now we see what kind of team they are. Maybe we can meet them, maybe not, in the playoffs. So, we just need to be more ready.”
James shines amid gloom
If there was a plus point on a disappointing evening for the Lakers it was LeBron James’ form.
The 40-year-old continued his comeback from a groin strain, scoring 33 points, 25 coming in the second half.
“That was the best I’ve felt since before the injury, for sure,” James said. “I just tried to press, get downhill. My rhythm, as far as my jump shot, felt pretty good today. I have been shooting it from the free throw line extremely well as of late. But that was probably the best physically I’ve felt so hopefully I can build off of that.”
