In a game critical to the playoff picture in the Western Conference, the Golden State Warriors defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 123-116 on Thursday night at the crypto.com Arena. And if anyone was looking to assign blame for the loss on the Lakers side, they didn't have to wait long for a volunteer.
Five-time All-Star Luka Doncic, displeased with his shooting performance, bluntly took accountability for the Lakers' defeat while speaking to reporters after the game.
"I think they were playing good defense," Doncic said. "I think we didn't play with enough trust—especially me. So, that performance from me is unacceptable. When I play like that, it makes [it harder] for the team to win, so just gotta figure it out."
Doncic sank his first attempt of the night in the first quarter, but four misses followed before he saw another field goal attempt fall through the net. In particular, the Slovenian superstar struggled from the three-point line, where he shot 0-for-6, making him 3 of 22 from that range in his last three contests combined.
"It wasn't his night," Lakers coach JJ Redick succinctly said when asked about Doncic's shooting struggles.
The Lakers (46-30) currently hold the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference. With four of the club's final six games coming against playoff-caliber opponents in the Oklahoma City Thunder, Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets, Los Angeles will need a better version of Doncic if they want to secure home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Luka Doncic Bluntly Takes Blame for 'Unacceptable' Performance in Lakers Loss .
