LOS ANGELES — Another night, another uphill climb, another stumbling finish.

Christmas wasn’t much of a holiday break for the Lakers.

They got closer than they had any right to, considering they trailed by 23 points in the fourth quarter, that they were doling out significant minutes to a 10-day contract player, and that one of their available stars shot a miserable 4 for 20 from the field.

But that’s unlikely to ease the ache for the Lakers (16-18), who lost their fifth straight game, 122-115, in heart-rending fashion against a Brooklyn team more shorthanded than they were. They were cut to pieces by James Harden (36 points) and Patty Mills (34), who led a hobbling Nets team to victory without Kevin Durant or Kyrie Irving.

The Lakers’ best hope was again LeBron James, who was again not enough to win. The 36-year-old scored 39 points and dished out seven assists in the comeback, another strong effort in a recent string that has not been able to push the Lakers over the hump. He drove the action, assisting or scoring on all four baskets that led to Malik Monk tying the game with 45 seconds left.

But Nets center Nic Claxton slammed a dunk over James’ head five seconds later and drew a foul, adding insult to injury and an extra point to boot. The Lakers never scored again.

“I don’t really care about the way I play if it comes in a loss,” he said. “When I’m on the floor, I’m just trying to do my part and more.”

Interim coach David Fizdale is beset by problems at the moment, not the least of which is filling in for Frank Vogel who is in the NBA’s COVID-19 protocols. But one gets the sense that James’ run of four-straight games of 30 points or more is keeping him up at night more than any other.

“I’m kicking myself in the head because he’s giving me incredible effort,” Fizdale said. “Trying to figure out ways to get him over the hump with that effort, and I hate that it’s wasted on losses.”

The co-stars who once made this a circled game on the regular-season schedule didn’t live up to their billing. Anthony Davis is just a week in to his rehab from an MCL strain; Russell Westbrook was still flying around, doing everything except finishing his shots. Even though Westbrook (13 points) took only four shots outside of the paint, he struggled to finish close to the rim, too.

The closer the end of the game crept, the more Westbrook’s misses hurt. He missed a finger roll with 3:22 left, but the Lakers managed to roll through it. But they couldn’t recover when a loose ball found Westbrook’s hands, and he shot up the lane for a dunk attempt that ricocheted off the rim itself with 26 seconds to go.

The Lakers had to resort to hacking for fouls, allowing the Nets to pull away at the finish.

The person who could have best explained the performance declined to speak to the media Saturday night. In his stead, Fizdale referenced something he’s said before about Westbrook: He’s struggling because he wants to win.

“I mean you can just see it in him, everybody does: He wants it so bad,” Fizdale said. “And I know that’s just hard for him when it doesn’t work out. And I know he cares like crazy. This is every day to him. And sometimes it just doesn’t work out that way.”

Westbrook’s were not the only misses that hurt the Lakers in the fourth quarter: James and Talen Horton-Tucker each missed layups midway through the period when the Lakers outscored the Nets 33-20.

James also pointed out Westbrook’s other stats, including 11 assists and 12 rebounds for a triple-double. Five of his boards came on the offensive end, where the Lakers have been struggling.

“He gave us extra possessions, he gave us a lot of looks around the basket, which I know that he can’t stand (missing) as well,” he said. “But as far as the effort piece, if a guy plays hard, if a guy leaves it all out on the floor, I got no problem with that. It’s a make-or-miss league.”

Another hard question for the Lakers might be how they got so far in the hole in the first place. They took the lead with a Carmelo Anthony (17 points) jumper at 10:25 of the third quarter, then were outscored 32-12 for the rest of the period. The Lakers were anemic despite shooting six more shots in the third quarter than the Nets, hitting 8 for 27 to Brooklyn’s 13 for 21.

Starters pulled more than their weight for Brooklyn, which had just 12 points from the bench. The Lakers’ own starters were sketchy at best, with all of them posting a negative plus-minus rating except James, who outscored the Nets by nine points in nearly 40 minutes.

The Lakers pulled the plug on Dwight Howard early, going with wing-heavy lineups to keep up with Harden (10 for 25) and Mills (11 for 17). Harden was just one day out of the protocols himself, tossing a first-quarter airball but showing little other ill signs. Related Articles LeBron James, Russell Westbrook have triple-doubles as Lakers end 5-game skid Lakers play without Wayne Ellington; still waiting for others to return from protocols Lakers’ Russell Westbrook: ‘I’m over the whole situation with what everyone else wants me to do’ Lakers weekly reset: Will anything stop the free fall? Mater Dei alum Stanley Johnson keeps NBA career kicking in Lakers call-up

The Lakers have nothing resembling momentum at present, their close losses not representing progress as much as the frustration of coming close for a narrow loss. James said he would dive into film, not just to see what the Lakers can improve upon, but himself as well.

“I try to do my part when I’m on the floor, carry the load, try to do a little bit on both sides and just try to lead by example and also lead with my voice,” he said. “And it’s obviously been difficult throughout this stretch, but that won’t stop me I’m going to continue doing what I’m doing.” Newsroom Guidelines News Tips Contact Us Report an Error

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