SI

Luka Doncic Was Refreshingly Honest About LeBron James Taking Clutch Shots for Lakers

Kristen Wong

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) and guard Luka Doncic (77) during the second quarter against the Charlotte Hornets at Crypto.com Arena.
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) and guard Luka Doncic (77) during the second quarter against the Charlotte Hornets at Crypto.com Arena. / Jason Parkhurst-Imagn Images
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The Los Angeles Lakers appear to be losing some steam after their blockbuster Luka Doncic trade, falling to the Charlotte Hornets 100-97 on Wednesday night. The Lakers have now dropped their last two games against two of the NBA’s worst teams in the Hornets and the Utah Jazz, though there’s hardly any reason to sound the alarm with Doncic just three games into his Lakers tenure,

Doncic recorded a triple-double in the loss, yet he shot just 5-of-18 from the field and 1-for-9 on three-pointers while adding six costly turnovers. The Slovenian guard played his part in thrilling comeback victories for the Dallas Mavericks in recent years, but this time it was star teammate LeBron James who got hot at the end of the game and scored 16 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter.

The Lakers’ comeback attempt would, however, fall tantalizingly short as James missed two potential game-tying three-pointers right before the buzzer.

Doncic, who inbounded to James on the Lakers’ last play, was asked about James getting the last shot in the final seconds of the game.

"He had it going, so obviously we're going to go to him," Doncic told ESPN. "I think it will go both ways. One time it's going to be him, one time me. So I think it depends how the game is going."

After the game, James credited coach JJ Redick for drawing up the play for him and lamented not being able to execute it.

The two Lakers superstars are clearly still building chemistry on and off the court this season, and it remains to be seen whether egos will clash ahead of the playoffs.

"He still doesn't know all the plays. He doesn't know all the defensive coverages, all the signals and things that we've built since September," James said of Doncic. "So obviously we're trying to fast-track it on the fly. … We're all working through it together."

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Kristen Wong
KRISTEN WONG

Kristen Wong is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. She has been a sports journalist since 2020. Before joining SI in November 2023, Wong covered four NFL teams as an associate editor with the FanSided NFL Network and worked as a staff writer for the brand’s flagship site. Outside of work, she has dreams of running her own sporty dive bar.

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