An already wild week for Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James got even wilder Thursday night.
The Chicago Bulls pulled off the most miraculous comeback of the NBA season with a 119-117 win over the Lakers, handing James & Co. what might be their most devastating loss this year. The Bulls somehow scored nine points in the final 10 seconds to walk away with the unlikely victory, one that saw James commit a few uncharacteristically sloppy errors down the stretch.
During those final seconds, James left Bulls forward Patrick Williams a little too open on his three-pointer, turned the ball over on the ensuing inbounds pass and didn't quickly pick up Josh Giddey in the backcourt before Giddey's ridiculous buzzer-beater game-winner.
James took the blame for some of his late-game miscues after the loss:
"We put ourselves in a position to win," James said. "Gave up a lot of threes in the fourth quarter. We still put ourselves in a position to win, horrible turnover by myself. Bad miscommunication... AR still made a big bucket trying to save us. And then, tip your hat if someone makes a game-winner from half-court."
Giddey, who intercepted James's inbounds pass, was even surprised at the veteran's rookie move.
"He kind of just bounced it," Giddey said, via The Athletic. "I was surprised at how easy I was able to grab it."
James finished the contest with 17 points, five rebounds and 12 assists and appears to have fully recovered from his groin injury, but the Lakers may have reason to worry after dropping four of their last five games.
Los Angeles (44-29) will look to bounce back against the Memphis Grizzlies on the road Saturday night.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as LeBron James Bluntly Addressed His Brutal Turnover in Lakers’ Loss to Bulls.
