The NBA season’s fragility is more apparent in the months prior, when each game accounts for an identical 1.2% portion of the schedule. When you’re in the thick of things, tomorrow seems more important than actual closure.

Until the very end, most people are left with nothing more than “if only.”

If only the Lakers had grabbed onto the rope more tenaciously versus Brooklyn and Sacramento, if only they had been more focused coming out of the in-season tournament, and if only they had found their shooting strоke sooner.

If only they had had a bit more good fortune.

More time, if only they had it.

The Lakers played what might be their final home game as the season’s finale approached, falling to Golden State 134-120 in a crucial contest for postseason status.

With 35 losses, the Lakers (44–35) are knotted with the Warriors for ninth place in the Western Conference, and Golden State has the season tiebreaker. This weekend, the Lakers play their final games of the season in Memphis and New Orleans, with little control over their postseason destiny.

After defeating Cleveland on Saturday, the Lakers entered the seventh spot with plenty of energy. Thus they reasoned. The illness that would keep LeBron James out of Sunday’s game against Minnesota was a source of grievance for him after the game. And when Anthony Davis departed the game in the first quarter after taking a blоw to the face, any chance they had against the Timberwolves was gone.

The tension before Tuesday’s game was high. The first announcement was that Davis would not be able to participate due to nausea and headaches. Players in the locker room went on to sаy they hadn’t even seen James at the arena and that they weren’t sure if he would participate.

James became available at the last minute, just before the Lakers had to turn in their starting lineup. Along with 11 assists, 7 rebounds, and 33 points in 35 minutes, he was quite the player.

I just made an effort to sleep as much as I could. Drink as much water as you can, dude. Give my team everything I’ve got today,” James remarked. “I arrived on Sunday for my typical pregame prep day against Minnesota, and as the minutes ticked by, things started to get worse. I simply left and went home. And today was really one of the first days that I was able to leave the room, get out of bed, and have some energy.

He provided the Lakers with a brief spurt, but it was nothing compared to the performance the Warriors displayed, as they outscored the Lakers with a total of 26 three-pointers from all different angles.

While Stephen Curry, the Warriors’ most potent weapon, methodically tore at the Lakers’ defense without Anthony Davis, Draymond Green scored five points in the first half and youngster Brandin Podziemski scored three straight.

Prior to Tuesday’s game, Green had made six threes in the previous month of play. The Lakers admitted after the game that they had a plan in place to feed the ball to Green.

Curry’s six three-pointers were all made. He grabbed seven rebounds, eight assists, and scored 23 points on just nine attempts.

“Guys showed up and made shots,” Lakers head coach Darvin Ham remarked. “It’s a make-or-miss league; that much is certain.” Undoubtedly, it’s a difficult loss. They put a lot of pressure on your defense because we didn’t have AD there to act as our conductor; instead, we had to move around and communicate, which was obviously very difficult. However, as you can see, we felt comfortable with our game plan going into the game, and we executed it for the most part of the game.

The Warriors made history by being the first team to shoot at least 63.4% and make 26 or more three-pointers.

Lakers guard Spencer Dinwiddie called it “historic.”

But the Lakers fought back, closing the gap to nine early in the fourth quarter and pulling within five with a chance to cut it to six points after trailing by 17 points at one point in the third. However, as it had been all night, they were unable to make as many shots as Golden State, with the Warriors killing it with a thоusand blows.

The match served as a reminder of the Lakers’ frantic attempts to go past the No. 9–10 play-in round, a single-elimination match that may ultimately take place on the Warriors’ home court.

Furthermore, Golden State is among the last teams anyone wants to see in an elimination game given how quickly they can turn a game around. In the last 83 seconds of the third, they scored 10 straight points.

The Clippers managed to win in Phoenix, and Sacramento lost despite blowing a large lead, thus the Lakers had some support from other teams in the league.

With the Lakers’ hopes of making the playoffs dim following their second consecutive defeat, they will require more of it.

“As we proceed, we’ll work out the scenarios,” Dinwiddie stated. But we are aware that victory is necessary. not continue to lose.

I wish things had turned out differently.