California Notes: Luka, LeBron, Goodwin, Kings, Dunn

Following the Lakers’ seventh loss in 10 games, a 118-106 defeat to Orlando on Monday, All-Star guard Luka Doncic took some accountability for the club’s recent struggles. Per Dave McMenamin of ESPN, Doncic believed that it fell to him and fellow L.A. All-Star LeBron James to lead the Lakers out of this stretch.

Both players missed multiple bouts in this 3-7 run, which also included a rough slate of six games played in eight days. Doncic sat out two contests with an ankle ailment, while James was shelved for seven games with a groin issue.

“I think me and Bron, think we should be the guys to do that,” Doncic said. “That’s on me. Obviously, I’ve got to do better, I’ve got to talk more. I talked in the first half, then just kind of [let my] voice down and I shouldn’t do that.”

Los Angeles recovered somewhat on Wednesday, defeating Indiana 120-119 on the road with a buzzer-beating James tip-in of a Doncic miss. They’ll face off against Chicago on Thursday night, in the second game of a back-to-back slate.

There’s more out of California:

• Against Indiana, Lakers guard Jordan Goodwin wrapped up the last active game of his two-way player eligibility, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link). Marks observes that Goodwin’s deal will need to be converted to L.A.’s standard roster if the contending club wants him to suit up in any more regular season or postseason contests. All 15 standard roster spots are occupied, meaning the Lakers would need to cut someone to promote Goodwin.
• After losing four straight and eight of their last 10, the Kings are struggling to finish their 2024/25 regular season strong. Pricey new trade acquisition Zach LaVine called out the energy around Sacramento, per Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. “The vibe is not good,” LaVine said following a Monday defeat to Boston. “It shouldn’t be. We’re not happy with the way we’ve been performing individually and as a group.” Interim head coach Doug Christie disputed LaVine’s claims.“He was incorrect,” Christie said. “I think when you ask a question like that when you go through a little bit of a losing streak, it’s more about not being happy that you lost, like I’m upset that I lost.
• Clippers reserve guard Kris Dunn is bringing the same acumen he displayed as an on-ball defensive specialist with lottery-bound Chicago and Utah clubs to a fringe West contender, as he told Grant Afseth of Sportskeeda in a new interview. “I think it’s probably just being on a bigger stage,” Dunn told Afseth. “I’ve done this in Chicago, I’ve done this in Utah. I think also me being healthy plays a part in that — from my earlier years to now, I’ve been doing the same thing for sure.”