Sometimes it just isn’t your night. Unfortunately for the Los Angeles Lakers, it isn’t the ideal time in the season to have that kind of game.
With Anthony Davis out on Tuesday night due to headaches and nausea, LeBron James a game-time decision due to an illness and the Golden State Warriors hitting a season-high 26 threes—also tying a franchise record—the Lakers lost 134-120.
That put a major dent in their hopes of securing an automatic playoff berth, dropping them to 45-35 on the season, 2.5 games behind the New Orleans Pelicans for the sixth seed.
It also brought them one step closer to landing the 10th seed in the West, which would mean they wouldn’t host a game in the Play-In Tournament:
James fought valiantly despite being under the weather, finishing with 33 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds. But Stephen Curry (23 points, eight assists, seven rebounds, 6-for-6 from three) and Klay Thompson (27 points, 5-of-10 from three) led a scintillating shooting effort from Golden State.
Draymond Green even joined the action, hitting 5-of-7 threes en route to 15 points and 10 assists. When Green is acting like a Splash Brother, you know you’re in trouble.
I didn’t even really comment the whole game cause AD is their entire defense.
The Lakers never took the regular season seriously.
No reason for me to. This their mess.
— Richard Staple, BSN, RN🇯🇲 (@RichStapless) April 10, 2024
That didn’t make the Lakers’ performance any less disappointing for folks on social media, especially given the context of the playoff positioning:
This has not been a great week for the Lakers, losers of two straight. The team now has matchups against the Memphis Grizzlies (Friday) and the Pelicans (Sunday) to close the season.
wtf y’all doing @Lakers
— LakeShowYo (@LakeShowYo) April 10, 2024
And awaiting them in the Play-In Tournament’s first game very well could be a Warriors team that has beaten them three of four times this season.
The Lakers escaped from the Play-In Tournament a season ago. But few teams have been more erratic than this bunch, making a pair of win-or-go home scenarios absolutely terrifying for Lakers’ fans.
