Los Angeles Lakers: Luka Doncic Fires 'Unacceptable' Statement After Loss to Warriors 7 Apr 3, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) moves the ball against Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) during the first half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Los Angeles Lakers: Luka Doncic Fires ‘Unacceptable’ Statement After Loss to Warriors

Originally posted on Hardwood Heroics | By Rex Villas | Last updated Apr 4, 2025 9:11 AM ET

After winning two games in a row, Luka Doncic and the Los Angeles Lakers got stopped in their tracks by Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors on Thursday night in Tinseltown. There wasn’t a happy ending in Hollywood in that contest for the Lakers, as the Warriors escaped with a 123-116 victory.

The game was notable for a number of reasons, among which was the fact that it was the first meeting between the Warriors and the Lakers involving both their trade deadline acquisitions in Jimmy Butler and Doncic, respectively.

Doncic, however, was far from satisfied from his performance, as he felt he could have done more.

Via Dave McMenamin of ESPN:

“That performance from me was unacceptable,” Doncic said after the defeat dropped L.A. to No. 4 in the Western Conference standings with six games remaining in the regular season. “When I play like that, that makes [it] harder [for the team] to win, so just got to figure that out.”

Luka Doncic didn’t have it in Los Angeles Lakers’ loss to the Warriors

Los Angeles Lakers: Luka Doncic Speaks Up About 'Heavily Wrapped' Elbow After Warriors Game 1 Apr 3, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) plays for the ball against the Golden State Warriors during the second half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Doncic scored 19 points for the Lakers in the Warriors game but he was inefficient on offense. He shot just 6-for-17 from the floor and while he hit all of his seven attempts from the free-throw line, he missed every one of his six tries from behind the arc. The 26-year-old Slovenian added eight rebounds and seven assists to his name in 38 minutes of action.

Meanwhile, LeBron James led the Lakers with 33 points on 10-for-15 shooting to go along with nine assists and five boards in 40 minutes.

Doncic has the opportunity to atone for that letdown performance right away this Friday when the Lakers host the New Orleans Pelicans, who are already out of playoff contention and have just 21 wins.

Los Angeles Lakers: Luka Doncic Speaks Up About 'Heavily Wrapped' Elbow After Warriors Game 3 Apr 3, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles guard Luka Doncic (77) shoots against Golden State forward Kevon Looney (5) during the second half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

This article first appeared on Hardwood Heroics and was syndicated with permission.

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