LeBron James' return wasn't enough as the Los Angeles Lakers dropped their third consecutive game, falling 130-108 to the Boston Celtics on Friday evening.
The loss dropped Los Angeles below .500 on the season, and James challenged his teammates postgame to play with a bit more purpose.
"We damn sure need to play better, no matter who is in the lineup," James told reporters, according to ESPN's Dave McMenamin. "We have our system, and we need to obviously fast-track it and get better with it so we can play, no matter who is out on the floor, we can play at a high level. ... There's no level of panic. But there should be some sense of urgency anytime we take the floor."
It was an inconsistent offensive performance from the Lakers. Los Angeles scored 38 points on 61.9% shooting in the opening quarter and led by as many as 14 in the first half. However, the team shot just 41.3% from the field the rest of the way and were undone by another poor third quarter as the Celtics outscored the Lakers 33-21 in the frame.
Boston made 50% of its field goals and scored at least 30 points in each quarter. The Celtics' 130 total points were a season-high for a Lakers opponent. Los Angeles led the Association in defensive efficiency in 2020-21 but rank 18th through 17 games this season.
"We have to get committed to playing as a team offensively," said Lakers head coach Frank Vogel. "And when we do, like we saw in the first quarter, it looks beautiful, and you see the potential of what we can be. But we got into holding the ball too much and not playing for each other enough.
"But that's part of learning each other and building that cohesiveness and the right habits. And then defensively, guys are going to have big roles if they commit to the defensive side. And if they don't, they're not. It's that simple."
