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The only thing left for JJ Redick to do was joke about it. What else could be said after the Lakers made just six of 38 three-pointers in a 103-88 loss to the Clippers on Saturday?
“I was proud that we improved from three 4-for-33,” the coach deadpanned. “So we got better as the game progressed.”
With four regular starters limited by injuries, the Lakers’ ice cold shooting night doomed them to a season-low in points. Star guard Luka Doncic left the game with 12 points at halftime after a left leg contusion sustained in the first half. Redick noticed the NBA’s leading scorer limping on the court during the second quarter. Starters Austin Reaves (calf), Deandre Ayton (elbow) and Rui Hachimura (groin) were all sidelined for the game, as well as key reserve Gabe Vincent (back).
It left just LeBron James, who had 36 points, four rebounds and three assists as the Lakers (19-8) fell behind by 22 but cut the deficit to seven in the fourth quarter before fading again.
“We just didn’t make shots,” said James, who was three for seven from three-point range and made half of the team’s threes. “It happens over the course of a season. We had some great looks. We just didn’t make shots. But we still gave ourselves a chance to be in the game with how well we defended, our competitive spirit, our competitive nature.”
Here are three takeaways from the game:
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Lakers pleas toward referees falling flat
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The Lakers have been assessed five technical fouls in the last two games because of conduct with officials as frustration over inconsistent calls is starting to boil over. After Doncic, Jaxson Hayes and Marcus Smart were all given technical fouls in the third quarter of Thursday’s win over Utah, Doncic and Smart were T’ed up again Saturday in the first and third quarters, respectively.
“I think if any coach, any player, what we ask for is consistency,” Redick said. “And that’s not to single any official out or any crew out, it’s not about that. We need to know what it is night to night.”
Smart also drew a technical foul against Utah after attempting to talk to an official at halftime. When Smart walked away frustrated, he raised his middle finger toward the official, a gesture that got him fined $35,000 Saturday, the NBA announced.
“Sometimes you got to take the hit to get your point across,” Smart said Saturday.
Redick expressed additional frustration with the lack of transparency in the replay system and murky communication with officials. He said he has not received any feedback when he requests it and the distinction between plays that can and can’t be challenged appears to change every night.
The lack of communication has been frustrating for players as well, Smart said, who met with referees before the Utah game as a team captain, but still had his questions dismissed.
“The captain should be able to come talk to them,” Smart said. “They still don’t want to hear it. So control what you can control. They don’t want to talk, you know, you try and you move on. But it definitely is frustrating when you pour your heart out to this game and the feedback is literally waving you off, telling you to get out your face, and then giving you a tech because you’re asking a simple question.”
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Way off the mark
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The Lakers had their worst shooting night of the season by far, making just 34 of 88 shots (38.6%). The team that was second in the NBA in shooting percentage hadn’t shot worse than 40.3% from the field in a game this season. Even their shaky three-point shooting that was 23rd in the league (34.5%) found a new low: the 15.8% (six for 38) shooting from three-point range is the worst for the team since Jan. 3, 2024 when the Lakers made four of 30 threes in a 110-96 loss to Miami.
Smart, who had made 14 of 28 threes in his last three games, missed on all of his nine long-range shots Saturday and finished with five points on one-of-12 shooting. Jake LaRavia, who was acquired as a free agent in part for his three-point shooting, was 0 for four from beyond the arc. The 24-year-old is shooting a career-low 32.1% from three-point range this season despite his eight-for-15 start in the first five games of the year.
“I know I’m a good shooter, everyone on the staff knows I’m a good shooter, everyone on the team knows I’m a good shooter,” LaRavia said. “At some point, I have to make shots. Obviously, been in a slump pretty much this entire season outside of that first stretch of games where I was making some. But they’ll drop.”
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LeBron James carries the load alone
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Once Doncic left the game, the Lakers’ best chance at scoring points became “effort offense,” LaRavia said. Hustling, grabbing offensive rebounds and cherry-picking points in transition was almost enough as the Lakers pieced together a 15-0 run to cut a 22-point Clippers lead to seven with 7:56 remaining in the fourth.
Redick praised the team’s “incredible spirit,” noting that James led the charge in that aspect. In addition to making 15 of 28 shots from the field for his season-high in points, James had two steals and a block. After he drove aggressively to the basket for a layup through contact and finished a three-point play to cut the lead to nine, he was the first to dive on the floor for a loose ball on the next defensive possession when he poked the ball away from Kawhi Leonard.
With the Clippers (7-21) playing most of the game without center Ivica Zubak, who rolled his ankle in the first quarter and didn’t return, James took advantage of the smaller lineup by aggressively getting into the paint.
“He did a terrific job of driving the basketball,” Redick said. “Anytime he had [Brook] Lopez on him, he’d beat him up from the perimeter. Great game from him.”
James, who turns 41 on Dec. 30, has passed his unofficial “training camp” phase after he missed the first 14 games of the season because of right sciatica. He has averaged 30 points in the last three games while shooting 50% from the field.
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