Luka Doncic's 43 points, near triple-double aren't enough to carry Lakers to a win without LeBron

Doncic was aggressive and dynamic during his third-highest-scoring game in a Lakers uniform. He added 12 rebounds and nine assists, but it wasn't enough to push the Lakers to a victory without LeBron James, who will be sidelined by sciatica for at least the next few weeks.

"I think there was a lot of positive things tonight, and obviously a lot of things we've got to work on," Doncic said. “But my confidence is fine.”

This loss showed the pitfalls and the possibilities for the Lakers without the top scorer in NBA history. James can be the binding fabric and the organizing principle in the Lakers' lineups on both sides of the court, but for now they've got to figure out how to win without him — and without relying solely on Doncic.

Coach JJ Redick acknowledged he's stuck between dealing with the Lakers' current reality and thinking about their long-term prospects when James returns.

“It’s hard to forget about LeBron,” Redick said. “The reality is that when you’re focused on the group that you have, you’ve got to make that group work. (But) sometimes you can just be like, ‘Oh my God, we’re going to get LeBron back at some point!’ To be honest with you, I did have one moment in that first half when we had a few possessions where we couldn’t score against the zone, I thought it would be great to have LeBron just to throw it to at the high post.”

Until James' sciatica allows him to begin his unprecedented 23rd NBA season, the Lakers must go on behind Doncic, whose first season opener for the Lakers was an exhibition of his singular scoring talent — particularly when he got into the paint against the smallish Warriors. Doncic was an impressive 15 of 17 inside the 3-point line and 13 of 14 in the paint, but just 2 of 10 on 3-point attempts.

“When I attack the paint, there are (good) things,” Doncic said. “I've just got to more attack the paint, and then go from there.”

Doncic acknowledged that his improved conditioning helped him against a busy team like the Warriors, although he felt minor pain in his hip during the game. But when this active, aggressive version of Doncic kicked the ball out to his teammates, they too often didn't come through.

Fellow starters Rui Hachimura and Gabe Vincent were a combined 4 of 10 — taking only 3-point attempts — in 64 combined minutes.

“(Doncic) was being very aggressive today,” Hachimura said. “He gets a lot of attention, so we’ll get a lot of wide-open 3s from him. That’s going to be the season. They’re going to do whatever it takes to guard, so we have to be ready to shoot, to make a decision.”

Austin Reaves, who needs to be a volume scorer in James' absence, got off to a foul-plagued start and only rallied to score 13 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter. Reaves and Doncic attributed some of the Lakers' 20 turnovers to learning how to play with their new teammates, particularly center Deandre Ayton.

“I think I have to do a better job talking to (Ayton, communicating) what I want, what he wants,” Doncic said. “I don’t think he got enough touches, so that was on me today.”

But the Lakers also realized they were done in by yet another poor third quarter, continuing a trend from the past two seasons. Los Angeles gave up a 16-4 run while falling behind by 17 points, and they couldn't get closer than six down the stretch.

"The trend I see is that we continue to be a terrible third-quarter team," Redick said. “That was last year. That was the preseason. Got to rethink some things, and it's a two-way thing with the guys: What do they need at halftime to make sure they're ready to play? They're not ready to play at the start of the third quarter.”

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA