The Los Angeles Lakers opened the second half of the NBA season with a loss, and they’re still waiting for a signature Luka Dončić performance.
After leading by as many as 13 points in the third quarter, the Lakers went without a field goal for six minutes while the Hornets took over at Crypto.com Arena. A LeBron James-led comeback then erased a nine-point lead, but the Hornets pulled out the 100-97 win in the end.
The loss pushed the Lakers record to 32-21, and 1-2 with Dončić in the lineup.
After scoring 14 points in his Lakers debut and 16 in his second game, Dončić once again struggled with efficiency coming out of the All-Star break. He finished with 14 points on 5-of-18 shooting (1-of-9 from 3-point range) with 11 rebounds, eight assists and six turnovers. He was in foul trouble for much of the game.
Down the stretch, it was LaMelo Ball running things for the Hornets, sometimes at Dončić’s expense.
James had 26 points on 10-of-20 shooting with 11 assists, seven rebounds, two blocks and two turnovers. More than half of his points came in the fourth quarter.
A game with the Hornets carried some intrigue because of the trade deadline move that went up in smoke last week. Hornets center Mark Williams was supposed to become Dončić’s primary lob threat in the paint, but the Lakers killed the trade after his physical, leaving them with a big man duo of Jaxon Hayes and the recently signed Alex Len.
Williams had 10 points and nine rebounds on Wednesday.
