LeBron James diagnosed what went wrong for the Los Angeles Lakers in their 116-104 Game 3 defeat to the Minnesota Timberwolves, dropping them to a 1-2 series deficit.
The 39-year-old superstar highlighted his team’s carelessness with the basketball as the primary culprit in the road loss.
19 turnovers on the road is not a good ingredient to win a game, LeBron James says
The Lakers coughed up the ball 19 times, which Minnesota converted into a devastating 28 points.
Making matters worse, the Timberwolves generated 21 fast-break points, repeatedly punishing the Lakers in transition.
“Obviously you know, 19 turnovers on the road is not going to be a good ingredient for winning, giving up 30 points off those turnovers. You know they had 20 points in transition as well,” James explained in his postgame comments.
LeBron James hopes Lakers can get better at controlling the ball
Despite his decades of playoff experience, LeBron James acknowledged the difficulty of playoff basketball while emphasizing that certain mistakes simply can’t be tolerated in the postseason.
“In the postseason, obviously you’re not going to play a perfect game,” James said.
“But the more that you make mistakes on top of mistakes, on top of mistakes—things that can be controlled—then it’s not going to give you an opportunity to be in the best possible chance to win.”
Luka Doncic’s illness also plays a role in Lakers’ loss
James also addressed Luka Doncic’s subpar performance, as the Slovenian star struggled with just 16 points on 6-16 shooting while battling a stomach illness.
“Obviously, with his illness, it impacts our team,” said James, who delivered a historic performance with 38 points and 10 rebounds, setting a new NBA record for most points in postseason history by a player over age 40.
“We understand what he brings to our team and what he’s done since the acquisition. It definitely took a big blow for our team.”
As the Lakers look ahead to Game 4, rookie head coach JJ Redick faces mounting pressure to adjust his strategy.
Cleaning up the turnovers and defensive breakdowns will be essential if Los Angeles hopes to even the series.
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