Luka Dončić’s triple-double not enough for Lakers in loss to 12th-place Nets

The Lakers’ scorching run post-Luka Dončić trade has hit a wall.

After a loss to the reigning champion Celtics on Saturday, Los Angeles lost, 111-108, on the road to the 12th-place Brooklyn Nets on Monday.

Dončić posted a triple-double and hit a deep 3 in the game’s final seconds to keep the Lakers afloat. But it wasn’t enough against the 22-win Nets for a Lakers team playing without LeBron James. James is expected to miss 1-2 weeks with a groin strain suffered against the Celtics.

Lakers cede early control

The Lakers looked little worse for wear without James in the early stages of the game as they opened up a 31-16 lead early in the second quarter. But the Nets battled back to take a 48-47 lead into halftime, and the Lakers never wrested back control of the game.

The Nets turned a back-and-forth game in the fourth quarter into a two-possession lead that stood at 106-100 with 59.1 seconds remaining. A Ziaire Williams bucket with 13.1 seconds remaining appeared to put the game to bed for the Nets with a 108-103 advantage.

Lakers defense blows critical late possession

Dončić kept the Lakers in the game with a pull-up 3 from 35 feet in response that cut the Nets lead to 108-106 with 9.1 seconds left. But the Lakers allowed Noah Clowney to score an uncontested dunk on Brooklyn’s ensuing inbounds play that all but ended any hopes of a miracle Lakers comeback.

Dončić finished the night with 22 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists for his second triple-double in 12 games since joining the Lakers. But he shot just 8-of-26 (30.8%) from the field on an inefficient scoring night.

Austin Reaves joined Dončić with a productive effort on a rough shooting night while hitting 3-of-14 field goals en route to 17 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds.

The Lakers got just 13 minutes in a scoreless effort from starting center Alex Len as Brooklyn secured a 47-43 rebounding advantage, including a 16-8 edge on the offensive glass.

Gabe Vincent led the Lakers with 24 points on 8-of-12 shooting in a spot start. Rookie Dalton Knecht tallied 19 points on an 8-of-18 effort in his 13th start of the season as the Lakers shuffled their starting lineup without James and Rui Hachimura, who missed his sixth straight game with a knee injury.

Clowney led the Nets with 19 points and five rebounds off the bench, while Cam Johnson and Keon Johnson scored 18 points each. The Nets improved to 22-42 with the win.

The Lakers, who won nine of their first 11 games since Dončić joined the lineup, including eight straight heading into Saturday, have now lost two straight to drop to 40-23. As the Nets beat the Lakers, the Nuggets beat the Thunder in Oklahoma City to improve to 42-23 and take a one-game lead over the Lakers for second place in the West.

Despite Monday’s loss, the Thunder have a stranglehold on first place with an 11-game lead over the Nuggets. The other teams at the top of the conference are playing for second place to secure home-court advantage for a potential second-round matchup in the playoffs.