The Los Angeles Lakers' losing woes continued on Christmas Day as they suffered a gut-wrenching 122-115 defeat at the hands of the Brooklyn Nets. The Lakers have now lost five games in a row as they dropped to seventh place in the Western Conference standings with a 16-18 record.
Harden sinks Lakers in return
What made the defeat so disappointing for the Lakers was that it happened against a Nets team that was without superstar Kevin Durant. They still had no answer for the returning James Harden, who notched a triple-double in his first game back since December 10.
Harden, who was sidelined because of COVID-19, recorded 36 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists against the Lakers. He got some help from Patty Mills, who scored 34 points and dished out seven assists. Mills was on fire from beyond the arc, knocking down eight of his 13 3-point attempts.
The Nets got off to a terrific start, building a 38-23 advantage after the first quarter. The Lakers responded in the second quarter, slicing the deficit to just four points heading into the halftime break. Brooklyn then went berserk in the third quarter, outscoring Los Angeles, 36-20, to take a commanding 102-82 lead.
The Nets looked like they were on their way to an easy win as they stretched that lead to 23 points in the opening stages of the fourth quarter. There is no quit with the Lakers, though, who embarked on a 15-0 run to cut the Nets' lead to eight points. LA eventually tied the game at 115 on a Malik Monk layup with 45 seconds remaining to send the fans at Crypto.com Arena into a frenzy.
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James' efforts go to waste as Westbrook struggles again
Just when it seemed the Lakers would record another memorable come-from-behind win, the Nets delivered a strong finishing kick to quell LA's uprising. Nicolas Claxton threw down a monster dunk over LeBron James for a 3-point play, part of a 7-0 run that sealed the win for the Nets.
It was a frustrating result for James, who tried his hardest to end the Lakers' losing skid. He recorded 39 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists in the loss to the Nets. James played 40 minutes, and the Lakers were +9 when he was on the court. James made history with that performance as he broke Kobe Bryant's record for most points scored on Christmas Day.
Much of the blame for the Lakers' loss was placed on Russell Westbrook. Even though he clinched a triple-double with 13 points, 12 rebounds, 11 assists, he was a liability on the court. The Nets outscored the Lakers by 23 points in the 37 minutes that Westbrook played. He shot just 4 of 20 from the field, including 0 for 3 in the fourth quarter.
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