LeBron James 30 points cant save injury-plagued | College News
DALLAS — The Lakers are as shorthanded as they are often, their dynamic beginning backcourt of Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves out with accidents at a pivotal time of the season.
They’re the offensive engines for a Lakers staff battling for the No. 3 playoff seeding in a aggressive Western Conference.
The 41-year-old LeBron James is now driving the Lakers, and despite falling just a rebound shy of a triple-double, he couldn’t save the Lakers from a 134-128 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday at American Airlines Center.
James had 30 points, 15 assists and 9 rebounds. Luke Kennard delivered his first profession triple-double with 15 points, 16 rebounds and 11 assists.
Dallas rookie Cooper Flagg, coming off a 51-point efficiency against Orlando on Friday, completed with 45 points, 9 assists and eight rebounds. He scored 19 points in the first quarter.
“Obviously, Cooper is in a zone over the last couple of games,” James said. “But [he] also has been playing consistent basketball all year so it’s great to see him from early in the season to where he is today.”
For the Lakers, discovering methods to win without two of their best gamers can be their problem over the ultimate week of the season.
“We’ve got to have the commitment to do it on both ends and that’s the reason that we’ve put ourselves in the position to be in the playoffs,” Redick said, “because we became a really good offensive team and a really good defensive team.”
Doncic was identified with a Grade 2 left hamstring pressure and can be out the rest of the common season — possibly even longer.
Doncic’s agent, Bill Duffy of WME Sports, confirmed to The Times that his consumer will search specialised treatment for his injury in Europe with the hopes of dashing up his recovery.
Reaves was identified with a Grade 2 left indirect muscle injury and can be out for the remainder of the common season, and probably into the playoffs. The time body for Reaves’ return is more like four-to-six weeks, according to a individual with data of the scenario not licensed to converse on the matter.
Dallas Mavericks ahead Cooper Flagg, left, drives against Lakers guard Bronny James during the second half Sunday.
(LM Otero / Associated Press)
“I took my nap after practice and I woke up with that news and it was like another shot to the [head],” James said about Reaves’ diagnosis. “It was a shot to the heart, obviously, and to the chest and to the mainframe with Luka, understanding that.”
Even Marcus Smart, recognized for his competitiveness and defensive tenacity, missed his seventh straight sport with proper ankle soreness.
With Doncic and Reaves out, the Lakers lose a mixed 56.8 points per sport and 13.8 assists per sport. Doncic is fourth in the NBA in assists, with 8.3 per sport, and he’s second on the Lakers in rebounding, at 7.7 per sport.
“We knew that Austin was likely going to be out for a little bit of time,” Redick said. “Obviously, disappointed and devastated for him to have his regular season finish this way. … Both those guys are going to try to come back and it’s our job to extend the season so that they can come back.”
The Lakers have 4 regular-season video games left, beginning with Oklahoma City on Tuesday at Crypto.com Arena. They play at Golden State on Thursday before going through the Phoenix Suns in L.A. on Friday.
The Lakers are tied with the Denver Nuggets for third in the West at 50-28, although the Lakers own the tiebreaker. The NBA playoffs begins the weekend of April 18.
With that in thoughts, Redick was requested if he had an optimistic view of Doncic being back for the playoffs.
“I just know that he’s gonna do everything he can to try to be back,” Redick said. “I talked to him Friday. I talked to him again yesterday. I talked to him again this morning. He’s going to go through all the necessary things to be back at some point, and it’s our job again to extend the season so both those guys can get back.”
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