Where’s LeBron? As Lakers season vanishes, he again disappears
They owned a halftime lead with one of the most accomplished playoff players in NBA history.
They lost by 23.
They had the leading scorer in NBA history at the helm of a scorching offense in a noisy arena against a team that had every reason to fight.
They lost by 23.
For those who watched the first three games of these Western Conference semifinals between the Luka Doncic-less Lakers and the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder, it’s no surprise that the Thunder are up three games to none.
What’s shocking is that, with a 131-108 victory Saturday night at Crypto.com Arena, the Thunder claimed victory over the prone body of an NBA legend.
They applied the dagger directly to LeBron James’ heart.
As in the previous two games of this series, the Thunder treated a Lakers lead like a pesky gnat, eliminating it with a single blow as if it never existed.
As if James had never existed.
This time, it happened during a third quarter in which the Thunder turned a one-point halftime deficit into a 13-point lead that was never contested again.
This time, it happened with James, although he was on the court for nearly 11 of the quarter’s 12 minutes, making just one shot with no rebounds, one turnover and a minus-13 rating.
“The third quarter, we’ll start with that,” James admitted afterward. “We didn’t have the energy or the effort.”
Indeed, he looked tired. He looked like he was 41 years old. He looked like a guy who, after playing a record 300 playoff games, was having trouble breaking the 301 mark.
Lakers forward LeBron James catches his breath during a break in play against the Thunder in Game 3 Saturday night at Crypto.com Arena.
(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
For the game, he missed 12 of 19 shots, four of six three-point attempts, had no offensive rebounds and tied a team-low at minus-24 in 33 fewer minutes.
Translated: His son Bronny was only six baskets short.
“I wouldn’t say I’m angry or disappointed,” LeBron said. “I mean, obviously, you’re disappointed just being down 3-0 obviously. But I mean, you know, we still have life and that’s all you can ask for.”
Well, you could ask James to go back in time, but he already did that this spring. Remember, he literally saved the Lakers from an epic embarrassment with a game-clinching gem in Game 6 in the first round against the Houston Rockets.
But without Doncic, whose impact is enormous, his task proved too tenuous, his responsibilities too heavy, his miracle too unachievable.
This time, time is up.
This time, LeBron James does not succeed.
Lakers forward LeBron James slaps coach JJ Redick’s hand as he walked to the bench during a blowout loss to the Thunder in Game 3 Saturday night.
(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
Not only are the Lakers facing a historic impossibility — you’ll recall that NBA teams leading three games to none are 161-0 — but they’re already carrying the weight of a historic humiliation.
The Thunder’s 74-49 second-half advantage marks the Lakers’ second-worst second-half loss since they arrived in Los Angeles 65 years ago.
This series isn’t even close. Since last week’s opening tip, there has never been any serious doubt.
“I mean, obviously we have to [give] everything,” James said. “Everything and more to beat a team like this.”
Ah, but they don’t have “and more” anymore and James knows it.
For the Lakers to have a chance without the league’s leading scorer, isn’t it constantly infuriating to see Doncic, suffering from a hamstring, sitting on the bench in a fancy sweatsuit? – they needed superhuman efforts from James and second-leading scorer Austin Reaves.
Reaves, sigh, has clearly been unable to overcome his oblique injury and his playoff demons. He was lousy again Saturday with five field goals and five turnovers and a bunch of jokes for the officials.
Lakers guard Austin Reaves, right, raises his hands in the air as he complains about a non-call during Game 3 against the Thunder Saturday night at Crypto.com Arena.
(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
That left the bulk of the work to James, who isn’t officially injured, but I’m guessing his whole body is in pain. He’s not officially exhausted, but I’m guessing his whole body is tired.
He’s not officially a senior, but in NBA terms he’s definitely a senior and during the most important moments of Saturday’s game, he acted like one.
In a third quarter that marked the start of a 21-5 run for the Thunder, in a damning stretch, James missed back-to-back layups and was passive on a Reaves pass that turned into a turnover, which turned into another Oklahoma City basket.
For the game, for the third game in a row, the Lakers made a bunch of mistakes that turned into a bunch of baskets, this time 17 blunders that became 30 points for Oklahoma City.
Midway through the fourth quarter came perhaps the worst turnover sequence of all, with Reaves having a layup blocked by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Alex Caruso running downfield for an uncontested dunk while a clearly tired James walked behind him.
By the way, the Thunder have been so good that they’ve endured three mediocre games as the reigning SGA MVP and will likely sweep this series again.
“The MVP is, you know, 18, 22, seven out of 20 tonight, and they kicked our ass three games in a row,” Laker coach JJ Redick said. “They’re an incredible basketball team.”
The bench was vacated by Redick with 3:38 remaining, which has to be some sort of record for a LeBron James losing playoff team.
“We have to stay with it,” said Marcus Smart, who was obliterated by the Thunder’s physical guards. “We must be even more desperate than we are.”
I gotta get more LeBron James.
No guarantee you will get it.
