When it was announced that both LeBron James and Anthony Davis would be making their return against the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday, it seemed like the Los Angeles Lakers would find a way to get back on track.
Alas, it didn’t make a difference.
In a back-and-forth contest, the win was there for L.A. to claim, as it led 98-92 with less than eight minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, but it gave up an 11-5 run in the closing minutes and fell just a bit short, 114-111.
Now the Lakers are in 11th place in the Western Conference and are a full game behind the San Antonio Spurs, who are in 10th place.
Even worse, the Spurs hold the tiebreaker, meaning that L.A. would have to finish ahead of them to reach the play-in tournament.
It’s not over yet for the Lakers, but it’s extremely close to being over.