The Los Angeles Lakers lost a heartbreaker to the Dallas Mavericks that left quite a lot of fans frustrated. There were many moments where the Purple and Gold could've snatched victory from their opponents. One of the more painful moments came in regulation, when LA inexplicably did not foul Luka Doncic while up by three, allowing him to sink the game-tying triple. Head coach Darvin Ham echoed these same sentiments, per Matt Peralta.
“No, we wasn’t looking to foul. … We needed to feel confident in the five guys we had out there defending and he did when Luka [Doncic] does and made a shot and I’m kicking myself in the butt. Need to coach a little better than that. We should have blitzed them… I’ll take the bullet for that. That’s on me. We (Lakers) have to be better defensively in those moments.”
Darvin Ham and the Lakers certainly want some of those possessions back. The team fought valiantly against Luka Doncic and the Mavs, but ultimately came up short. One could argue that LA was shafted by bad calls by the referees. However, that doesn't erase the fact that the Lakers shot below 25% from deep (10-41) and 73% from the line (27-37). Those are simply unacceptable numbers.
Despite their bad shooting, the Lakers somehow still had a chance to win against the Mavs in regulation. With them up by three, LA could've potentially fouled any Dallas player and force them to either foul you or intentionally miss a free throw. Instead, they allowed Doncic to tie the game, and bring them to double overtime.
Follow Us
Subscribe