After a frustrating close loss to the Clippers on Friday, things didn't get any better for the Lakers on Sunday when they hosted the Pelicans.
The first 19.5 minutes were competitive but after that, the visitors dominated the contest and pretty quickly turned it into a blowout.
The 123-95 loss is the Lakers' fifth in their last six games and the 28-point margin is tied for the second-largest loss this season.
Postgame, Lakers head coach Frank Vogel said the team needed to "flush" this loss and move on.
“When you have 23 turnovers, you’re not gonna win… Some of it is carelessness, and some of it is we’re ice cold from the perimeter right now." Frank Vogel on tonight's frustrating loss. pic.twitter.com/0CM93UBubM
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) February 28, 2022
Having said that, the team only allowed 22 points off their 23 turnovers.
The game really opened up over a 14-minute stretch between 2:30 mark of the second quarter and the end of the third period.
In this time span, the Pelicans outscored the Lakers 54-28. Towards the end of this stretch, the Lakers received loud boos from the home crowd at the Crypto.com Arena.
After this, New Orleans never looked back and kept their foot on the gas for the big victory.
'No answers," LeBron James said postgame about the Lakers response to the Pelicans' above-mentioned run.
"I had some horrible turnovers." @KingJames (32 PTS, 6 REB, 7 TO) reflects on tonight's loss and looks ahead at the upcoming tough stretch of games. pic.twitter.com/fkkp71j0m3
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) February 28, 2022
Along with Russell Westbrook, James combined for 14 of the team's turnovers.
With this loss, the Lakers slip to 27-33 for the season which slots them at ninth in the West. They now hold just a 2.5-game lead over the Pelicans and Portland Trail Blazers.
Can they maintain this lead or will the downward spiral continue? Only time will tell but the schedule ahead doesn't favour them much.
“It don’t get easier for us," James said about the road ahead.
According to tankathon, which combines the winning percentage of each team's remaining opponents to determine their strength of schedule, the Lakers have the second-toughest schedule remaining after Sunday's games.