After sliding to 11th place in the Western Conference following a 128-110 loss to the Dallas Mavericks in Texas, the Los Angeles Lakers are in danger of missing the NBA playoffs.
The Lakers trailed by 26 points at halftime, 82-56, without LeBron James and Anthony Davis, who were both out with left ankle sprains and right midfoot sprains.
According to ESPN Stats, it was the Lakers' second-highest point total in a first half in franchise history, just one shy of the 83 scored by the Boston Celtics in 1959.Luka Doncic led the Mavericks with 34 points, 12 rebounds, and 12 assists in just 30 minutes on the court, giving him his 10th triple-double of the season.In just 30 minutes on the field, NBA All-Star Luka Doncic recorded his tenth triple-double of the season.
Los Angeles was led by Malik Monk, who scored 28 points, and Russell Westbrook, who scored 25 points.
The Lakers were defeated by the No. 9-seeded New Orleans Pelicans just 48 hours prior to this latest loss. They've dealt the Lakers a near-fatal blow, and they now have a 2% chance of making the playoffs, according to FiveThirtyEight.
"We just didn't execute well enough," Lakers coach Frank Vogel told ESPN. "We didn't play with enough toughness, IQ, intelligence, focus, or fight." "That's not acceptable, and it's just a bad performance all around: coaches, players, and everyone."
The Lakers will play a team ranked higher than them in each of their final seven regular-season games, with six of those games taking place against teams currently in the top six seeds. The Lakers have the identical win-loss record as the No. 10-seeded San Antonio Spurs, but are seeded 11th in the conference because the Spurs have a better record.
The Lakers are now outside of the play-in tournament, when teams ranked seventh through tenth in each conference have two chances to win one game and qualify for the playoffs.
The Lakers, who were NBA champions just two seasons ago, are no strangers to missing the playoffs, and the team's building discontent was evident after the game.
"Man, nothing. Nothing is the case "When asked what changed now that LA is fighting to re-enter the play-in competition, Westbrook responded.
The Lakers will play the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City on March 31.
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