The Los Angeles Lakers suffered a 111-108 loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Monday night, and head coach JJ Redick did not hold back in his postgame comments.
Redick criticized his team’s lack of focus, calling it a “low-level communication game” and stating that being short-handed was no excuse for their poor performance. He pointed to costly mistakes, including gambling on defense, ball-watching, and struggling to execute basic offensive sets.
“I think it was just an overall mentality just to take shortcuts tonight,” Redick said. “They scored 20 points on us gambling. They had 16 offensive rebounds. We ball-watched all night.”
The Lakers, playing without LeBron James due to a strained left groin, struggled to generate efficient offense. Luka Doncic recorded a triple-double with 22 points, 12 rebounds, and 12 assists but shot just 8-for-26 from the field. Austin Reaves also had a rough night, finishing 3-for-14.
Brooklyn, which had lost seven straight games, capitalized on Los Angeles’ mistakes. Noah Clowney led the Nets with 19 points, including a clutch late-game dunk to secure the win. Cam Johnson and Keon Johnson each added 18 points, while Tyrese Martin contributed 14 off the bench.
Gabe Vincent provided a spark for the Lakers with a team-high 24 points, drilling six three-pointers. Dalton Knecht added 19 points, and Reaves came close to a triple-double with 17 points, 10 assists, and eight rebounds. However, their efforts fell short in the closing moments.
The Lakers trailed by as many as 15 points but rallied in the fourth quarter. Doncic hit a deep three-pointer with 10.6 seconds remaining to cut the deficit to two, but Brooklyn executed a key inbounds play that led to Clowney’s decisive basket.
Redick emphasized the need for his team to eliminate bad habits and improve execution. “Going to be a good team, you want to win in the NBA, you got to do the hard stuff,” he said. “We couldn’t even pass to each other. We couldn’t enter our offense.”
Injuries have forced Los Angeles to adjust, with Jaxson Hayes, Dorian Finney-Smith, and Rui Hachimura also unavailable. Their absence contributed to an unfamiliar lineup, but Redick refused to use that as an excuse.
“We just got to be better,” Redick said. “We’ll use practice to clean things up and make sure everybody’s on the same page.”
Brooklyn rebounded from a late-game collapse against Charlotte on Saturday and managed to close out the Lakers despite a strong contingent of Los Angeles fans in the crowd.
The Lakers, now 40-23, will look to bounce back in their next matchup as they fight to maintain their positioning in the Western Conference playoff race.
