LeBron James is open-minded about the Los Angeles Lakers' end to the NBA regular season after their 11th straight defeat against the Los Angeles Clippers.

James was part of a strong Lakers team that lost 125-118 to their LA rivals on Wednesday, leaving them narrowly behind the Clippers and the Golden State Warriors as they look to sneak into the top six of the Western Conference and avoid the Play-In tournament.

The 38-year-old still managed a game-high 33 points, as well as eight rebounds and seven assists to his name, but it was not enough as the Lakers once again came up short against the Clippers.

"It's one of the toughest games we've had this year," James said. "Coming off the road trip... this was one of those scheduling conflicts in the season."

The Lakers have two remaining games, both at home, against the Phoenix Suns and the Utah Jazz, still hoping to make the top six in the west.

James added: "Wherever we end up, that's where we end up. It's been like four or five seasons in one for us. We don't have the luxury of saying: 'This is what we need to do. This is where we're going to be.' We need to still continue to play good basketball.

"We'll see. Wherever we fall, we'll be ready to go."

Wednesday's game was their fourth on the road in eight days, but Lakers coach Darvin Ham refused to use that as an excuse for a performance that at times looked tired, especially in the first half when the Clippers outscored their opponents by 19 points before James inspired a recovery.

"The circumstances weren't used as a crutch," Ham said. "They were just real. The real NBA schedule. Everybody goes through it at some point in their schedule in each and every year."