The Los Angeles Lakers wrapped up a quick two-game road trip on Wednesday night, going for their fourth straight win to begin 2026 while taking on the San Antonio Spurs.
This was the second night of a back-to-back, so the Lakers faced an uphill battle with key players like LeBron James and Austin Reaves out. Ultimately, they couldn’t overcome those missing pieces offensively and suffered a 107-91 loss.
Luka Doncic knew he needed to be aggressive from the jump with his co-stars out of the lineup and had three quick points. Jarred Vanderbilt got the start for James, but he picked up two quick fouls and immediately headed to the bench.
The Lakers couldn’t stop fouling early as the Spurs were living at the free throw line to build a 14-7 lead.
L.A. did have a nice response though as Doncic found Dalton Knecht and Jaxson Hayes for alley-oops and then buried a triple. Doncic also found Gabe Vincent, who was returning after a nine-game absence, for a 3 of his own and the Lakers trailed 26-23 at the end of the first.
With Doncic on the bench, the Lakers predictably struggled to score to begin the second, especially with Victor Wembanyama manning the paint. When Doncic returned though, he found Jake LaRavia for back-to-back 3-pointers to take the lead.
Unfortunately, the Lakers went ice cold from 3 to end the half as Doncic was creating open looks his teammates couldn’t convert. They were rock solid defensively though, allowing them to remain within striking distance, trailing 48-43 at the half.
The Lakers had back-to-back careless turnovers to begin the third quarter, but Vanderbilt made up for it with a pair of layups.
With the Lakers continuing to struggle offensively outside of Doncic, the Spurs built up a 14-point lead as Keldon Johnson couldn’t miss. L.A. didn’t stop fighting, but San Antonio took a comfortable 79-68 lead into the fourth quarter.
LaRavia and Nick Smith Jr. each hit triples to cut into the deficit early in the final quarter. Smith then took an ill-advised heat check though, which led to a quick Spurs bucket off his miss and a timeout by the Lakers.
With the deficit right around 10 for most of the fourth, the Lakers looked to make one final push. The gas tank was on empty at that point, however, as the Spurs had no issues closing it out.
What’s next for the Lakers…
The Lakers will now return home and host the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday before going back on the road for a matchup with the Sacramento Kings on Monday.
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