On Friday, the Lakers imploded in the second half to suffer one of their worst losses of the season, losing to the Nets in a blowout.

In one of the most perplexing and frustrating games of the season, the Lakers had one of their finest offensive halves before completely collapsing in the second half to one of the poorest teams in the NBA in the last two weeks, losing 130-112.

The purple and gold scored 68 points in the first half, but then struggled in the second half, scoring only 44 points.

LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and D’Angelo Russell all had high-scoring performances. They combined to score 70 points, 24 rebounds, and 19 assists. Jarred Vanderbilt had his best offensive game this season, scoring 12 points and grabbing five boards off the bench.

Austin Reaves struggled mightily, going 4-12 from the field and 0-6 from three, finishing with nine points. The Lakers’ bench scored just 18 points before garbage time, with Vando accounting for the majority of them and Max Christie for the remainder. Rui Hachimura and Christian Wood combined for 0-11 from the field before garbage time.

The Lakers started off strong, pushing the pace. AD was already putting his stamp on the game defensively. D’Angelo’s offensive dominance continued as he hit his first two 3-pointers. Cam Thomas, the Nets’ offensive weapon, came in and began making all of his shots to help halt the bleeding. The Lakers led throughout the quarter, with a final score of 37-28.

Former Laker Lonnie Walker entered the game and provided a spark for the Nets, scoring 10 points. The enthusiasm in the second quarter favored the Nets, but both teams struggled to make consistent shots. The Lakers replied whenever the Nets appeared to be getting traction. LeBron scored 16 points in the 15 minutes he played. The Lakers let the Nets shoot 53%, which kept them in the game. The Lakers led 68-62 at the break.

The Nets opened the third quarter by reducing the Lakers’ advantage to two. Cam Johnson narrowed the margin to one point. Mikal Bridges sank a 3-pointer to give the Nets their first lead of the game. The Lakers were having trouble refocusing on the game. The Nets had all the momentum, but the Lakers started to respond, and Austin Reaves cut the Nets’ lead to two.

The Nets responded, taking a nine-point lead. Vando hit two corner threes, but the Nets still had momentum and were up 10. At the end of the quarter, the Nets were up 100-90.

The fourth quarter began with the Nets maintaining their strong lead. When LeBron complained to the refs, he received a technical foul. After the Nets were about to extend their lead, the Lakers abruptly stemmed the bleeding and reduced it to ten points.

The Nets increased their lead to 18. The Lakers battled throughout the night and could not find any indications of energy. With five minutes remaining in the game, the phony comeback Lakers attempted to make their presence. That didn’t matter, and the Lakers suffered their most humiliating loss this season.

Key Takeaways: The Lakers’ lack of offensive intensity has been a recurring issue throughout the season, resulting in significant losses.

The drop in quality from the first half to the second was startling, but not surprising given what we’ve seen all season. It’s awful that they played one of their finest attacking halves and then messed up in the second.