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Luka Doncic’s big night not enough as LeBron-less Lakers fall to Spurs

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SAN ANTONIO — The Lakers have come into several games lacking their normal firepower this season, and the younger, deeper opponents who sense blood in the water have been taking advantage of those situations.

Luka Doncic had 38 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists but with three-fifths of their preferred starting lineup unavailable it wasn’t nearly enough for the Lakers in a 107-91 loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night.

Keldon Johnson had 27 points and Victor Wembanyama added 16 points and 14 rebounds as the Spurs (26-11) moved into second place in the Western Conference despite shooting 4 for 25 from 3-point range.

LeBron James didn’t play due to left joint arthritis and sciatica, joining Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura (both nursing calf strains) on the unavailable list as the Lakers (23-12) saw their three-game winning streak come to an end.

Doncic shouldered as much of that load as he could, drawing frequent double-teams during his 38 minutes on the court and trying to provide additional coaching during timeouts. During one stoppage, he grabbed the whiteboard to instruct his teammates what to do when he was getting blitzed (he had seven turnovers).

“He had the requisite disposition of leadership tonight,” Coach JJ Redick said. “His body language, his confidence, he gave his teammates confidence.”

His teammates noticed.

“Tonight was probably the best [leadership] I’ve seen from him as a Laker,” said veteran guard Gabe Vincent, who played 18 minutes in his return from a back injury that kept him out for nine games. “Unfortunately, we didn’t come up with a win, but he was encouraging, he was uplifting, he made the right read nine times out of 10 down the floor. He was giving us everything he had and encouraging guys along the way.”

Jake LaRavia (16 points, seven rebounds) and Jaxson Hayes (10 points, seven rebounds) were the only other Lakers to score in double figures.

Wembanyama was listed as questionable after returning Tuesday from a two-game absence due to a hyperextended left knee. He had 30 points in 20 minutes in a 106-105 loss at Memphis and followed that with his 15th double-double of the season.

The Lakers, who trailed 48-43 at halftime, trimmed the Spurs’ lead to 56-54 on Jarred Vanderbilt’s layup with 8:08 to play in the third quarter before San Antonio regained its stride, going up 71-59 when Johnson hit a 3-pointer to cap an 11-4 run with 3:38 left in the quarter. Johnson and Stephon Castle combined for nine points during the run.

The Lakers never got closer than seven points the rest of the way with the Spurs all but icing the game when Castle made a driving layup with 4:14 left to push the margin to 14 points.

Castle finished with 15 points and De’Aaron Fox added 14.

Both teams were on the second night of a back-to-back set.

The Lakers disrupted alley-oop attempts to Castle and Luke Kornet in the opening minutes.

While the Spurs struggled to complete what has become one of their go-to moves this season, Hayes threw in a reverse dunk in front of Wembanyama on a half-court, alley-oop pass from Doncic.

Doncic had 22 points, seven rebounds and seven assists while playing all but four minutes in the first half. He finished with his 86th career triple-double in the regular season, which is seventh in league history.

LaRavia started his fifth consecutive game in place of Hachimura, and his play (along with Hayes) amid the injuries is among the things that has Redick optimistic about a healthier future.

“At some point you assume you’re gonna be at full health,” Redick said, “and I think we’re gonna eventually be a great basketball team. And to do that, you need nine or 10 guys that are playing high-level basketball.”

JAMES SITS

James, 41, was downgraded to out about 90 minutes before tipoff, with Jarred Vanderbilt starting in his place.

James sat out training camp and the first 14 games of the season because of the sciatica that affects his lower back and down his right leg. He has yet to play in both legs of a back-to-back set since making his return.

The NBA’s all-time leading scorer played 33 minutes in the Lakers’ 111-103 road victory over the Pelicans on Tuesday night in New Orleans, finishing with 30 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.

After the win, James told reporters that his status for all back-to-back games for the rest of the season won’t be determined until he sees how his body responds to the first game.

“Every back-to-back, for the rest of the season, is TBD,” James said. “I am 41. I got the most minutes in NBA history. Bank [that answer] right now.”

Redick explained the decision to sit James before the game against the Spurs.

“A lot of it is based on his injuries and just the management of those,” Redick said. “His foot typically after a game is sore. So that’s the primary thing. I talked to him today in the meal room. We were hoping that he gets to the point where he can play in back-to-backs with his body. But this stretch and this month, it’s going to be tough to say that.

“We hope he’s available, but a lot of it is how he wakes up the next morning.”

The Lakers play 10 of their 16 games on the road this month and have two more sets of back-to-back games.

UP NEXT

The Lakers host the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday at 7:30 p.m.