Lakers stay positive after win streak ends: ‘We’re a tough-minded group’

It finally caught up to them.

The Lakers saw their nine-game win streak come to an end Monday in a 113-110 road loss to the Pistons, with Luka Doncic unable to get a clean look on a potential game-tying three at the buzzer.

The Lakers trailed most of the night and were down as many as 16 in the third before pushing back.

They briefly grabbed the lead late on free throws from Deandre Ayton, but Detroit had an answer. Daniss Jenkins scored six straight points down the stretch as part of a career-high 30, swinging it back the other way.

The final sequence was messy.

Out of a timeout, LeBron James’ inbounds pass toward Doncic was tipped by Tobias Harris. The ball bounced around before Doncic recovered, but Jalen Duren closed quickly, forcing a rushed attempt that came up short.

“We were down … and then battled our way back,” Austin Reaves said, via Dave McMenamin of ESPN. “We did some really good things and there are some things we need to clean up.”

The effort was there. The shots weren’t always.

Doncic finished with 32 points but needed 29 attempts to get there. James had a rare scoreless first half and ended 4-of-10 shooting. The Lakers, already without Marcus Smart and Rui Hachimura, struggled to find rhythm against one of the league’s top defenses.

Still, there wasn’t much panic afterward.

“Just our mental toughness,” James said. “We’re a tough-minded group.”

The streak is over. The bigger picture hasn’t changed much.

The Lakers are still third in the West with 10 games to go and one more stop left on this trip, Wednesday in Indiana.

“It’s the last game of the road trip,” James said. “We got business to take care of.”