Shortly before the Los Angeles Lakers tipped off against the San Antonio Spurs in Texas on Monday, it was announced that LeBron James wouldn’t be able to play due to significant knee soreness.
Without him, the Lakers competed against Gregg Popovich’s men, but they were simply too shorthanded to come away with a win, as the Spurs outlasted them 117-110.
Lakers head coach Frank Vogel was forced to use many small lineups without the services of James or Anthony Davis. As a result, L.A. couldn’t prevent the Spurs from getting timely offensive rebounds, and it also let them get 64 points in the paint.
San Antonio shot 54.8 percent from the field, while the Lakers made 47.3 percent of their shots and just 30.8 of their 3-point attempts.
The Spurs tried to keep the door ajar late with missed free throws and turnovers, but L.A. couldn’t find a way to walk through the door of victory.
