Wednesday 11 March 2020 16:37, UK
Shaquille O’Neal said the Los Angeles Lakers will chalk up their surprise home loss to the Brooklyn Nets as one of those games.
Spencer Dinwiddie's jump shot with 28.3 seconds remaining proved the difference as the Brooklyn Nets escaped Staples Center with a 104-102 victory on Tuesday night.
LeBron James missed a late lay-up that could have forced overtime before Anthony Davis missed a three-point attempt at the buzzer that would have earned the Lakers victory.
Instead, the Lakers' four-game winning streak - one that featured signature back-to-back victories over the Milwaukee Bucks and LA Clippers - was snapped. The defeat was the Lakers' first home defeat since February 6.
Speaking on TNT's Inside The NBA after the game, Lakers legend Shaquille O'Neal said: "As professional athletes, we chalk that up as one of those games.
"[The Lakers] beat two great teams at the weekend, everybody is talking about [them]. Teams like Brooklyn, [against the Lakers] they are going to play way above their heads. [The Lakers needed] to play a little bit harder, do everything right. They still had a chance to win. If 'AD' hits that shot [at the buzzer], nobody even talks about this game.
"Now, the true mentality of a championship team? Next game we play, we blow them out."
LeBron James had 29 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists for the Lakers, and he flawlessly set up Davis' final shot by driving the lane and kicking out to his fellow All-Star.
"A great look, a great opportunity to win the game," James said. "We just missed it. That is what the game is about."
"A lot of shots are going to be open with [James'] ability to get in the paint and draw a defense," Davis said. "It is our responsibility to finish plays."
O'Neal's fellow Inside analyst Dwyane Wade said the defeat gives Lakers coach Frank Vogel an opportunity to convey the importance of closing out games ahead of the postseason.
"As a coach, this is the best time to go into the film room with your guys and teach them so they can learn from this game because you are preparing for the playoffs," he said. "It is not about the regular season, they have been playing amazing. But they could be in a situation in the first round of the playoffs where they need to close out (a series)."
Nets interim coach Jacque Vaughn celebrated his second win since taking charge following the departure of Kenny Atkinson.
"It is like the joy and pain of basketball," Vaughn said. "I had the perfect sight line (of Davis' potential game-winning shot at the buzzer). I see it leave, just watching the flight of it. Looked to see if his feet were behind the line, so I said, 'this is a three-ball. We are either losing this thing or were going to win this thing."
Davis missed. The Nets' coaching change remains a hit.
Dinwiddie, a Los Angeles native and lifelong Lakers fans who starred at Taft High School in the San Fernando Valley, reflected on the Nets' win.
"It feels good because it is a high-quality opponent on the road for a team that is doing its best right now to continue to find itself," Dinwiddie said. "Obviously, we have gone through injuries and the coaching change as well. There has been a ton of up and down. And [the Lakers] are one of the top, what, three teams in the league, right? The championship contenders, Lakers, Clippers and Bucks. So it is big for [us] to add this win."
Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, who finished with 13 points for Brooklyn, said: "Man, it is one of the biggest wins of the year. One of the sweetest, too, and it felt great. We played well. The whole team was involved."
