The Charlotte Hornets stung LeBron James and Luka Doncic with a shock victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night.
Miles Bridges scored 29 points and LaMelo Ball added 27 more to stun fans inside the Crypto.com Arena with a 100-97 win.
In the first game coming off the All-Star break, Lakers star James put up 26 points – 16 of which came in the fourth quarter – after missing the weekend’s exhibition through injury.
While his output was impressive, LeBron also missed two 3-point attempts right before the buzzer and the Hornets, who reeled off a 23-1 run during the second half, were able to hold on.
James’s new teammate Doncic, meanwhile, had 14 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists in his third game for the Lakers.
LA have lost two of the three games in which their two superstars have shared the court, suggesting that there is still plenty to work out for a team that has hopes of a deep playoff run.
And after the Hornets loss, Shannon Sharpe identified where the the Lakers keep coming up short with an issue that threatens their playoff ambitions.
“They are going to have to figure this out,” the NFL legend began on his Nightcap podcast.
“The third quarter is what doomed them. The Lakers, that’s kind of been their bugaboo. The last four or five years, in the third quarter, they come out flat.
“They had a lead going into the half, then they got outscored 32-18 in the third quarter.
“JJ (Redick) is going to have to do a better job of getting them guys fired up. They can’t come out lackadaisical.
“They had a 13 point lead in that third quarter, then they end up going down to start the fourth… because you get outscored 32-18.”
While Sharpe pinpointed a third quarter slump as the flaw the Lakers need to fix, he also suggested the team will need to ‘get used to LeBron and Luka playing together’ because both are at their best with the ball in their hands.
“Unfortunately, there’s only one basketball and there’s two of those great players, and it seems like nobody wants to step on anybody’s toes,” he said.
“But it’s going to take a while and I don’t know if there’s enough time to figure it out this season.
“Hopefully in the offseason, and next year, they can get it together.”
Post-game, head coach JJ Redick also admitted that the Lakers are still trying to adapt to their new offensive dynamic, but suggested it’s a problem he’s ‘excited’ to solve.
“I think sometimes when the group is trying to get acclimated with each other you can try to play the right way too much and turn down shots and then you can try to get yourself into the rhythm and not make the extra pass,” he said.
“I think the flow of everything is going to improve.
“I’m excited, because it’s a new problem to solve, we’ll work our butts off to try to solve the problem.”
The Lakers, who sit fifth in the Western Conference with a 32-21 record, will look to bounce back as they hit the road for their next two games against the Portland Trail Blazers and the Denver Nuggets.
