The Los Angeles Lakers suffered an embarassing defeat their last time out, falling to their in-city rivals the Los Angeles Clippers by 15 points.
In the matchup, the Lakers scored just 15 points in the first quarter and ended the game with only three players in double-figures. LeBron James led the team, scoring 36 of the team's 88 points. Jake LaRavia had a souble-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds while Luka Doncic also scored 12 points before leaving the game due to injury.
With Doncic absent, the Lakers had trouble scoring efficiently, shooting an abysmal 16% from three-point range.
Ahead of tonight's matchup against the Phoenix Suns, the Lakers will get Austin Reaves back from a calf injury. That said, they'll be without Doncic once more.
This will be Doncic's seventh missed game this season. However, when on the floor, he's been the league's highest scorer, averaging 34.1 points per game. Additionally, Doncic is averaging 8.8 assists and 8.6 rebounds per game.
According to Los Angeles Lakers insider Dave McMenamin, there is hope for Doncic to return to the court very soon. McMenamin reported that if Doncic feels good enough to go, he could return on Christmas day against the Houston Rockets.
As Los Angeles is beginning to lose ground on the San Antonio Spurs and Denver Nuggets for both the second and third seeds respectively, the Lakers will be hopeful to have Doncic return as soon as possible.
If he's unable to return on Christmas day, Sunday Dec. 28 against the Sacramento Kings would be his next opporunity.
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