Luka Dončić’s triple-double not enough for Lakers in loss to 12th-place Nets

The Lakers’ scorching start post-Luka Dončić trade has hit a wall.

After a loss to the reigning champion Celtics on Saturday, the Lakers lost, 111-108 on the road to the 12th-place Brooklyn Nets on Monday.

Dončić posted a triple-double and hit a deep 3 in the game’s final seconds to keep the Lakers afloat. But it wasn’t enough against the 21-win Nets for a Lakers team playing without LeBron James. James is expected to miss 1-2 weeks with a groin strain suffered against the Celtics.

The Lakers looked little worse for wear without James in the early stages of the game as they opened up a 31-16 lead early in the second quarter. But the Nets battled back to take a 48-47 lead into halftime, and the Lakers never wrested back control of the game.

The Nets turned a back-and-fourth game in the fourth quarter into a two-possession lead that stood at 106-100 with 59.1 seconds remaining. A Ziaire Williams bucket with 13.1 seconds remaining appeared to put the game to bed for the Nets with a 108-103 advantage.

Dončić kept the Lakers in the game with a pull-up 3 from 35 feet in response that cut the Nets lead to 108-106 with 9.1 seconds left. But the Lakers allowed Noah Clowney to score an uncontested dunk on Brooklyn’s ensuing inbounds play that all but ended any hopes of a Lakers miracle comeback.

Dončić finished the night with 22 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists for his second triple-double in 12 games since joining the Lakers. But he shot just 8 of 26 (30.8%) from the field on an inefficient scoring night.

This story will be updated.