LeBron James admitted the Los Angeles Lakers loss to the Philadelphia 76ers was ‘frustrating’ as Russell Westbrook spoiled a fine individual performance with a late-game error.
On Monday, the Lakers fell at home 113-112 to the 76ers in an agonising defeat. Many fans were somewhat confused by Westbrook’s play on the final possession as he failed to even get a shot off.
Following a miss by Joel Embiid, Westbrook - who finished with a 20-point, 14-rebound, 11-assist triple-double - dribbled the ball up the court as the superstar center guarded him with over 13 seconds remaining. The former MVP nearly lost the ball on a drive before circling back and driving again to the rim before getting blocked by Georges Niang as time expired.
Westbrook’s odd play and Lakers head coach Darvin Ham’s decision to not call a timeout have been questioned. A win over the full-strength 76ers would have been big for the Lakers, who have struggled in 2022/23 following their poor start to the campaign.
Westbrook suggested he was fouled by Embiid in the dying stages and labelled the final possession as ‘unfortunate’. The 34-year-old still had a solid performance as he registered the 198th triple-double of his career - the most in NBA history.
James dropped 35 points with eight rebounds and 10 assists, but it ultimately wasn’t enough as the Lakers dropped their third successive game to fall to a 19-24 record. It means Los Angeles remain 13th in the Western Conference despite their recent revival.
“It’s just frustrating,” James said after the game. “Getting in those positions and not being able to come out with the victory.
“We’re playing good basketball. We’re just not winning games.”
In the defeat, James’ 35 points on 15-for-23 shooting moved his career scoring total beyond 38,000 points as he became just the second player to pass the milestone after Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer with 38,387 points. The four-time MVP is already looking to the next match as the Lakers hope to try and get back to winning ways.
“The best thing about this league is you get an opportunity to redeem yourself very fast,” James said after the brutal defeat. “You still get an opportunity to be better the next day.
“We got another one tomorrow and we got to be ready to play against a young, fast, energetic Houston Rockets team.”
The Lakers face the 10-33 Houston Rockets in Los Angeles on Monday night.
