Frank Vogel

The Lakers lost 109-104 to the Dallas Mavericks at Crypto.com Arena to slide to a season-worst seven games below .500, leaving them ninth in the Western Conference.

James led the scoring with 26 points, one more than Mavs star Luka Doncic, but it was not enough for the 27-34 hosts as their poor run continued.

But despite the Lakers' ongoing struggles, James is not ready to write off the remainder of the 2021-22 campaign with 21 games of the regular season still to go.

"We still have games to play," he told reporters. "Until you stomp me out, cut my head off, bury me 12 feet under, then I got a chance. So that's my confidence.

"Obviously, at the end of the day, we got to come in here and win ball games and we got to play better but as long as we've got more games to play, we should have a chance.

"I feel like poop right now. But tomorrow is a new day and I'm going to be prepared and ready for the Clippers on Thursday. That's just my mindset. That's just who I am."

James has missed 17 games this season through injury, but the 37-year-old shot down suggestions he will use the final stages of this season as an opportunity to rest up.

"The only way it'll be back to full strength is with rest," he said. "But I don't have the luxury of having rest. It can wait until the off-season."

The Lakers made up a 21-point deficit to lead 100-94 with seven minutes to play, but 11 consecutive points ensured the Mavericks claimed an eighth win in 10 outings.

Luka Doncic stepped up by scoring seven of his 25 points in the final quarter and is now averaging 27.5 per game for the season – a tally bettered by only six others.

"We stayed together and just executed the game plan, played the game," Doncic said. "My mentality is to close the game with the best shot possible."

Los Angeles managed only four points in the final seven-plus minutes and head coach Frank Vogel accepted there is a lot to improve on.

"Our guys really competed," he said. "Our helpers really competed, but he had that stretch in crunch time where he scored a few buckets in a row. 

"It wasn't good enough. It hurts. All these guys are hurting in there. We're putting in the work."

James produced a masterclass with 36 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists to help the Lakers seal a 4-1 series victory over the Portland Trail Blazers by winning 131-122 on Saturday.

The three-time NBA champion and four-time MVP had two triple-doubles and two double-doubles in the Western Conference first-round matchup at Walt Disney World Resort.

As the top-seeded Lakers await the Houston Rockets or Oklahoma City Thunder, Vogel was asked if James – averaging a triple-double in the postseason – is taken for granted within the league.

"I think the media and maybe the fans are taking for granted but we don't take it for granted inhouse here," Vogel replied following Monday's practice.

"Our coaching staff, front office and his team-mates, we all really understand appreciate how special his performances are and what he brings to the table.

"We definitely don't take that for granted."

The Lakers, meanwhile, could be boosted by the return of guard Rajon Rondo for the Western Conference semi-finals.

Rondo has been sidelined in Orlando, Florida since suffering a fractured right thumb in July.

"He did practice today, did look good," Vogel told reporters. "We're hopeful to have him in this series."

The Lakers missed out on a place in the NBA playoffs after a 33-49 season saw them finish 11th in the Western Conference, costing the head coach his job on Monday. 

Vogel led the Lakers to the NBA championship in his first season at the helm, but a poor campaign has seen him removed from the post just 18 months later. 

Speaking after the announcement of Vogel's departure, the Lakers' vice-president of basketball operations and general manager Pelinka said the time had come for a change. 

"I want to thank him for three really strong years," Pelinka said of Vogel. "We just felt like it was time for a change in our leadership voice. Frank is a great man, a great coach and will go on to do great things. 

"This was a disappointing Lakers season at every level. In the face of disappointment, our fans expect more, and that's at every facet.  

"I think when you have disappointment, you need to take ownership of that and vow to make the adjustments to be better. That's where the work starts today.  

"We've been in this place before and we know what it takes to put in the work to fix it, and that's where our energy and time will be spent in the coming days."

In his 19th season in the league, Lakers star LeBron James averaged 30.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 6.2 assists in 37.2 minutes per game. 

Pelinka acknowledged the roster assembled for this season was not good enough, but felt confident the Lakers can experience success again in the future, with James remaining their lynchpin. 

"We need to do all we can to be caretakers of his legacy and to try to build the best team we can around him," he added. "We had the objective for that last year and obviously this roster did not work.

"But there's a great level of trust in our collaboration with him to make sure we get it right this summer and fix it. 

"I don't know exactly how long LeBron will play but, of course, this year he played at the highest level. [It was] an incredible year for him offensively, and he feels highly motivated to return next year and have another elite level of play. 

"If our team had found a way to win more, he would have been in the MVP conversation. For him to play at that level in the 19th year of his career is jaw-dropping, and his motivation to come back and do that again next year was palpable in my exit interview with him. 

"Every indication we've received is that he sees the Lakers as his home."

Without the injured LeBron James and Anthony Davis, the Lakers went down 117-114 to Charlotte, as they slipped to 24-26 for the season.

It was a second successive defeat for the Lakers, who have won just three games out of their last 10, a slump that has put Vogel under pressure.

In the absence of his fellow star players, Westbrook did his utmost to push Los Angeles over the line, scoring 35 points and adding four rebounds and five assists.

Yet it was Westbrook who missed a crucial three-pointer with 0.7 seconds remaining, the point guard having gone for glory with the Lakers trailing by two points, instead of trying to take the game to overtime.

Westbrook's effort hit the rim, leaving P.J. Watson to go up the other end and add a further point for the Hornets with a free throw.

Vogel defended his decision to take Westbrook off in the final stages of a defeat to the Indiana Pacers earlier this month, but after Friday's game, the Lakers coach was keen to stress his appreciation of the 33-year-old's performance.

"The hottest guy in the gym has the ball in his hands ready to make a play," Vogel told reporters when asked for his thoughts on Westbrook's decision to go for the three points.

"He was three for six from the three in the second half and went for the win. He knocks that down, we're talking about one hell of a win. 

"It just didn’t go down for us. Russell was spectacular in that second half. He just really willed our team into an opportunity to steal one on the road.

"I really appreciated Russell's performance tonight. I really want to credit [him]. He was very determined tonight."

"I had just made two [three-pointers] just before that, so I will live and die with that one," said Westbrook, who has 945 points to his name this season at an average of 18.9 per game.

Miles Bridges was tasked with marking Westbrook in the fourth, a tussle the Hornets' small forward – who had 26 points – enjoyed.

"I know he didn’t want to go to overtime," Bridges explained. "I tried to get a good contest on him."

Westbrook added: "I think [Miles] was trying to say I was too small or something, but that ain't the case and he knows better than that.

"It was definitely on my mind and I was like, ok, that's going to be a good trigger for me. I was able to turn it up a little notch, especially during that time of the game."

The Lakers are back in action on Sunday, against the Atlanta Hawks.

The teams met earlier in January, before the Lakers' dismal run, with Los Angeles claiming a 134-118 home win.

Los Angeles' points tally in that win was the most they had scored in a game against Atlanta since 1993 (135).

Davis stepped up in the absence of LeBron James – missing a fourth straight game with knee soreness – with a double-double of 30 points and 15 rebounds in Wednesday's contest.

The eight-time NBA All-Star has now had at least 30 points and 15 rebounds in three games this season and has averaged 29.3 points over his last three outings.

Davis's latest haul helped the Lakers improve to 25-27 in the Western Conference, and head coach Vogel was particularly pleased with the spirit he saw from the 28-year-old.

"He had some great sequences of grabbing rebounds in traffic," Vogel said.

"Tonight was about mental toughness and making enough plays and shots. It was a hell of a game by Anthony."

Nineteen of Davis's 30 points arrived in the final 12 minutes, with seven of his 15 rebounds coming in the fourth quarter

"I just tried to come out with the mindset of ending the streak," Davis said. "We have to play with some urgency. We just fought hard tonight. It was a great game for us."

Carmelo Anthony added 24 for the Lakers, who had lost to the Philadelphia 76ers, the Charlotte Hornets and the Atlanta Hawks in their previous three games.

Despite the best efforts of 30-point Norman Powell, Portland have now lost three in a row and five of their last six in a run that has seen them slip to 10th in the Western Conference.

"We had a couple breakdowns today," Powell said. "We had some good stops but gave them second and third-chance opportunities."

The Lakers are back in action against the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday, while Portland face the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday.

The Lakers were one of the big players with player movement during the off-season but have struggled to 26-30 record this season.

Russell Westbrook's acquisition has not brought the hoped impact and he was linked with a trade but that did not materialise, nor any other potential moves.

The Lakers' inaction has reportedly led to some friction between vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka and star pair LeBron James and Anthony Davis but Vogel downplayed that, insisting there was good energy within the roster.

"I think there's just a natural reset energy to our group, knowing that the trade deadline has passed," Vogel told reporters.

"This is the group that we put together to start the year. This is a group we believe in."

Vogel had said "if there's a way to improve our team, we'll improve our team" ahead of Thursday's trade deadline, while he also acknowledged the team's energy "isn’t good right now" after Tuesday's 131-116 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.

But the Lakers head coach was buoyed by Friday's practice and film session ahead of Saturday's game with the Golden State Warriors and a potential run down the stretch to push for the playoffs.

"I think with that deadline passing and having a refreshed mindset today, our group had really good energy about going out and trying to win a game [Saturday] and understanding and believing in what we can do this year," Vogel said.

Nine-time NBA All-Star Westbrook missed his first game of the season on Wednesday as the Lakers fell to a 107-105 defeat against the Portland Trail Blazers.

The 33-year-old's absence was put down to a back injury sustained the previous evening against the Milwaukee Bucks.

Westbrook spent the final quarter of that game watching from the sidelines, having earlier been jeered by his own fans, and later questioned Vogel's rotation policy.

That has done little to help the relationship between Westbrook and Vogel, with strong suggestions the 2017 MVP could be on his way out.

And rather than put an end to those rumours on the back of the defeat to Portland, Vogel instead offered a rather cryptic response.

Asked if there is a chance Westbrook will not be a part of the team once the trade deadline passes, Vogel said: "If there's a way to improve our team, we'll improve our team. 

"I've got nothing else to say about the trade deadline."

Westbrook, traded to the Lakers from the Washington Wizards last August, has 1,006 points for the season, a tally bettered only by LeBron James (1,133) among Lakers players.

But Westbrook's 18.3 average through 55 games is his lowest since 2009-10, and down from the 31.6 managed with Oklahoma City Thunder in 2016-17 when crowned MVP.

He was on court for just 26 minutes against the Bucks prior to hinting at his displeasure with Vogel, who in response insisted no player is bigger than the team.

"The needs of the team always come first," he said on Wednesday. "We have to be willing to do whatever it takes to get the Lakers a win. 

"Sometimes he's going to be in there for that, sometimes he's not."

The Lakers have now lost six of their last eight games and are 26-30 for the season, with a winning percentage of .464 placing them ninth in the Western Conference.

James, who top-scored for the Lakers against the Trail Blazers with 30 points, admitted the trade rumours are having a negative impact on his side.

"Obviously it's something that's weighing on this group that we're trying to all get through," he said.

"It almost feels like fog in the air and we're all trying to see what's on the other side of it."

LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Kyle Kuzma were among the Lakers' absentees at the Barclays Center on Saturday, but they came out on top against a Nets side who occupy second place in the NBA Eastern Conference.

Lakers guard Dennis Schroder and the Nets' seven-time All-Star Kyrie Irving were ejected after clashing in the third quarter.

The defending champions went on to improve to 33-20, Andre Drummond weighing in with a double-double of 20 points and 11 rebounds, with Talen Horton-Tucker laying on a career-high 11 assists.

Lakers coach Vogel said: "When you see guys out and you see a great opponent like the Nets, you can be a little bit overwhelmed and not sure if you're going to have a chance to win it.

"But you want to have a go-after-these-guys mindset. And we knew coming in that if we were able to prevail short-handed against this opponent that it would feel good and it would be one of the best wins of the year. So, we're happy about that."

Vogel added: "Like I said all along, all season long, when we play scrappy on the defensive end, we always have a chance. I'm super proud of our group."

Drummond was impressed with the character shown by his team-mates in a big victory on the road.

"I learned a lot from today's game: that we have a lot of guys in this locker room that are very tough," he said.

"Despite who is on the other side of the court, they're going to come out and play. No matter how many minutes guys play, they're going to play to the best of their ability. And we have fun doing it. We had a lot of fun tonight playing and getting this win."

San Antonio were shorn of star player Victor Wembenyama on Monday, yet ran out 104-102 winners over the Suns.

Phoenix have now lost three of their four meetings against the Spurs this season, despite San Antonio having been rooted to the bottom of the Western Conference.

And Vogel did not hold back in criticising his team.

"It's just unacceptable to lose that game," Suns coach Vogel said.

"For our guys, we all said the right things. We all did the right preparation. But we didn't play with the necessary focus in this position throughout, I would say, the first half."

Bradley Beal added: "It's disappointment.

"We came in here and laid an egg. We thought it was going to be easy with no Wemby. Just got our a** kicked.

"They came out aggressive, just like the coach told us they would, and we didn't respond. Well, we did, but we didn't withstand their punches."

Devin Booker says the Suns knew what to expect of the Spurs, but just did not deliver.

"I'm not into disrespecting our opponents," Booker said.

"These guys are NBA guys. There are some talented young players over there. We weren't unprepared. We knew what to expect."

Jeremy Sochan and Devin Vassell both finished with 26 points for the Spurs.

"I was confident," Sochan said.

"Even at the start, I was asking for the ball, I had my hands up. I felt like a couple of the last games the ball hasn't going in for me from the 3-point line. But no matter what, I believe in myself."

The Suns sit eighth in the West, but are about to embark on what ESPN class as the toughest end to the season in the NBA, but Vogel dismissed those concerns.

"We like our chances against anybody. We don't worry about the schedule," he said.

The 2017 MVP was acquired from the Washington Wizards during the offseason but struggled for form across the 2021-22 campaign.

Westbrook posted his lowest points-per-game season average for over a decade, as the Lakers missed out on the playoffs.

Speaking in his final media conference of the term, Westbrook hit out at "narratives" about his arrival, and added he felt he was forced to "prove himself" in a superstar side.

"People create narratives of me and who I am and what I do and what I believe in that are just not true," he stated.

"I'm always having to prove myself again and year after year after year, which is to me, just unfair. There's literally no reason to have to do that.

"So when I first got here, I just felt that I never was given a fair chance just to be who I needed to be, to be able to help this team."

Championship-winning coach Frank Vogel was dismissed on Monday, and Westbrook was candid on his relationship with the now-ex Lakers man, admitting he believed they struggled to click.

"I'm not sure what his issue was with me, or I'm not sure why, but I can't really give you an answer why we never really connected," he added.

"Maybe you know, that's something that he has to answer but from the get go I was feeling [I had] to prove myself to him and my capabilities and what I've been able to do for this game.

"It's unfortunate, but it's really not come out of my hands."

The Lakers slumped to a third defeat in a row with a heavy 133-96 loss at the hands of the Denver Nuggets on Saturday.

Frank Vogel's side, who were without injured Carmelo Anthony for a third straight game, now have a 21-22 record for the season and are seventh in the Western Conference.

The defeat to a Nikola Jokic-inspired Nuggets was the second biggest of LeBron James' 19-year career, and one fellow Lakers icon Johnson felt showed a lack of effort.

"After being blown out by the Nuggets, we as Lakers fans can accept being outplayed but we deserve more than a lack of effort and no sense of urgency," Johnson tweeted. 

"Owner Jeanie Buss, you deserve better."

Westbrook, who scored 19 points on 7-for-15 shooting, did not want to be drawn into a war of words with Johnson when asked for his reaction to the social media post.

"I do not have a reaction," he said. "Everybody is entitled, in this world, to their opinion – regardless of what that it is. 

"You can either take it and run with it or you can take it and put it in one ear and out the other or you cannot respond to it.

"Magic's entitled to his opinion. And he's not here every day. He's not around us every day. He's not aware of what's going on internally with us and trying to figure things out. 

"But I have no response to that. Like I said, everyone in this world is entitled to their opinion and that's that."

Reigning MVP Jokic recorded another triple-double as the Lakers slumped below .500 again in their defeat to the Nuggets.

Jokic finished with 17 points, 12 rebounds and 13 assists as Denver piled on 73 first-half points before restricting the Lakers to only 36 points in the second half.

And on the back of a humiliating loss, Westbrook concedes his side have to step up ahead of back-to-back home games with the Utah Jazz and the Indiana Pacers. 

"We just got to play hard," he said. "Sometimes, the schemes and how you play doesn't really matter. 

"You got to just play hard sometimes. Teams are playing harder than us, simple as that."

Dwight Howard, whose average of 5.4 points-per-game through 33 outings this season is the lowest of his career, echoed the thoughts of Westbrook.

"It's not too much I can really say about it. We've been saying it all year. I shouldn't have to keep saying. But, you know, he's right," Howard said.

"You can't stop believing that you're gonna win and just say, 'Ah, f**** it, let's give up.

"We know we've put ourselves in a pretty tough predicament, but all it takes is a couple games and some good energy and some positivity. We've just got to stay positive."

The Lakers' 37-point loss to Denver was their largest ever in this fixture and follows defeats to the Memphis Grizzlies and the Sacramento Kings in the past week.

"We've got to get back to the drawing board and get our defense right," head coach Vogel said. "We haven't performed well enough in the last two games on that side of the ball."

Westbrook signed for the Los Angeles Lakers at the start of this season in a trade with the Washington Wizards that has since been widely criticised.

The Lakers traded away three key players in exchange for Westbrook and his huge contract, which contains a staggering $47.1million player option for 2022-23.

Having also given up their draft picks for the coming seasons in acquiring Davis, the Lakers may have little option but to run it back with the core of a team who have missed out on the postseason this year.

For all the Lakers' problems – their elimination confirmed by Tuesday's defeat to the Phoenix Suns – Westbrook hopes that will be the case.

He has played only 21 games alongside both James and Davis this season, with each suffering from injury troubles.

"That's the plan, but nothing is promised," Westbrook said. "You've got to take one thing at a time each day and play the cards you're dealt.

"Yes, we want to be able to see what that looks like, what that entails over the course of an 82-game season.

"But we're not sure if that's guaranteed, either. I just hope that we have a chance to be able to do something in the future."

Westbrook described the season as "obviously disappointing on many levels" and said "so many different things" had gone wrong.

However, he added: "It's a situation that I was just blessed to be able to be in.

"I learned a lot about a lot of different things within myself. I was able to just stay real faithful and true to what I believe in, regardless of what was ever thrown our way, my way. We continued to fight through it regardless of results.

"I'm covered. What I mean by that is I am super blessed and grateful. Regardless of whatever is thrown my way, I'm covered by the protection of faith. Whatever is thrown my way, I can always prevail and get through it."

Head coach Frank Vogel added: "I'm extremely disappointed, disappointed for our fan base, disappointed for the Buss family, who gave us all this opportunity.

"We want to play our part in bringing success to Laker basketball, and we fell short.

"We were eliminated tonight, but I can say it's not been due to a lack of effort. We have all put in the work, our guys stayed fighting right until the end, we brought integrity to the process; we just fell short through a disjointed season."

Vogel also pointed to the Lakers' injuries, suggesting they were the main difference between this season and the team's title-winning campaign of 2019-20.

"It's just a different team," he said. "Without getting into a lot of the details why, that was a very different team than we have this year.

"I would say if LeBron and AD played 15 games together that year, we would have had a similar year to what we're having right now."