The Los Angeles Lakers nearly stole a dramatic finish but ran out of time in a 105-101 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks at Crypto.com Arena. What lingered most was a rare off-night for the franchise centerpiece. Luka Doncic fouled out with 16.2 seconds remaining, cutting short any final push and leaving the Lakers to wonder how a winnable game slipped away.

The Slovenian guard conceded his sixth and final foul while defending against Milwaukee’s Kevin Porter Jr. and couldn’t control his emotions as he felt that he did not make any illegal contact with the other player. In fact, he totally lost the plot and seemingly even cursed the game officials Brian Forte, Gediminas Peraitis, and Ashley Moyer-Gleich.

“GET THE F–K OUTTA HERE!!” Doncic shouted as his disappointing night came to a disappointing end.

Apart from fouling out, the 26-year-old also had a terrible day on the offensive end as well.

Doncic finished the night with just 24 points and nine assists, that too while shooting 8 of 25 from the field. This was the five-time All-NBA guard’s lowest performance since Christmas. That is why, as expected, the point guard wasn’t feeling great at full time and even admitted his mistake.

“It was a terrible day for me,” he told the reporters with visible frustration when asked whether his foul call affected the result of this close game that could’ve gone either way.

Luka Doncic couldn’t hold it down for the Lakers in a clutch game, something he’s done pretty efficiently throughout the season so far. In fact, the Purple and Gold secured 13 wins in such games to start the season and only lost their first such game on Friday, and the Slovenian’s foul on Kevin Porter Jr. proved to be the difference.

With the scores tied, Doncic’s foul gave three free throws to Porter Jr., and Milwaukee out which he made two give the Bucks a 103-101 lead, which they increased later on and closed the game. Nonetheless, while Luka Doncic was quite critical of his performance, his head coach, JJ Redick, was more forgiving of his star player’s underwhelming night.

JJ Redick is okay with Luka Doncic not having a great game

There’s no doubt that Luka Doncic has been one of, if not the best, players for the Los Angeles Lakers this season. After all, the Slovenian guard has led his team to several wins and has been averaging a staggering 33.7 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 8.8 assists per game. However, he was away from his incredible averages all across the board on Friday night against the Bucks.

Not only was Doncic extremely inefficient, but he also conceded a foul that cost his team the win. Still, given his instrumental contributions throughout the season so far, second-year head coach JJ Redick was more than okay with him having an off night, something he made very clear through his statement regarding Luka’s performance post-game.

“They played drop, and I thought there were a few drives that he felt like he got fouled on. He missed some free throws, and I think he’s been such a dynamic driver and paint toucher for us. Those plays can kinda mess with your mind a bit,” Redick said.

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“He’s won us so many games, whatever game it is, you’re naturally not gonna have your best stuff. He did not have his best stuff tonight… I think all of those guys put us in the position to win the game.”

While Redick did not seem too stressed about it, this was Los Angeles second loss in as many games. However, the reason could be relatively easy fixtures for the next two games, as they play Sacramento and Atlanta next, both of whom aren’t in great form on Monday and Tuesday, respectively.

Still, if the Lakers don’t want to drop further, they will need Luka Doncic at his best, something hopefully we’ll see in the upcoming set of games, as we eagerly await the tip-off.