At the time, it seemed unnecessarily bold, the Lakers playing so-so basketball when Anthony Davis casually laid it all out in late November.
“We could go on a 10-game winning streak, 12-game winning streak,” Davis said after the Lakers lost to the Sacramento Kings, “now the narrative is different.”
The narrative, months later heading into the last week of March, isn’t any different.
Since Davis’ statement, the Lakers have had just three winning streaks, momentum impossible to come by in a season that has become more and more hopeless as it progresses.
They won two in a row right after Davis’ proposition. Later, they’d win three in a row before winning four straight in early January.
And since? Nothing.
That was 75 days ago.
For a franchise that once won 33 in a row, the inability to string even two wins in a row could soon be season-ending. With the Lakers headed for the back end of the NBA’s play-in tournament, they’ll need to win consecutive games first to even make the playoffs.
The latest quest for consecutive wins happened Wednesday night against Joel Embiid, James Harden and the Philadelphia 76ers. And despite plenty of fight — a trait that has moved to the surface particularly in the last week, the Lakers walked off the court with a 126-121 loss at Crypto.com Arena.
The team’s last 10 wins have been immediately followed by a loss.
Wednesday, the Lakers were underdogs — and that was even before the team ruled LeBron James out because of a sore left knee.
“Played three games in four nights — lot of minutes,” Frank Vogel said of James’ recent road trip. “There’s enough soreness to keep him out.”
The next Lakers game is Sunday in New Orleans, giving James five days rest on an issue that he has wrestled with since the end of January.
“If he can be in there,” Vogel said, “he wants to be in there.”
James’ only impact Wednesday came between the first and second quarters, when he received a standing ovation for passing Karl Malone on the NBA’s all-time scoring list following a tribute video.
Otherwise, he was on the bench sitting next to Davis and watching the Lakers play against one of the best teams in the East while trying to sustain some of the good vibes from their recent trip, during which they won two of the final three games.
Stanley Johnson, a player who wasn’t even on the Lakers when Davis wondered what things would be like once the Lakers won 10 straight, opened the game by hitting five straight shots in the first half, including a trio of 3-pointers.
Johnson was part of another new Lakers’ starting five — their 35th of the season including him, Russell Westbrook, Wenyen Gabriel, Austin Reaves and Dwight Howard.
Talen Horton-Tucker also sat out his second straight game because of an ankle injury.
The lineup spoke to in-season adjustments the Lakers have needed to make, their team relying on a two-way player, an undrafted rookie and an in-season free agent to round out their best lineup while a handful of veterans sat on the bench.
“It’s not ideal, but this is coaching in the NBA. You stumble on the guys that you feel best about, who give you the best chance to win,” Vogel said. “And that’s where we’re at. Everybody in the locker room only wants what’s best for the team and for us to win, so everybody’s pulling in the same direction.”
Making shots and playing with pace, the Lakers led by six early before the 76ers’ talent eventually helped them pull away.
As Embiid stepped to the line early in the third quarter about to score his 20th point, a brief “MVP” chant began before Lakers fans quickly drowned it out with boos.
Philadelphia led by as many as 14 before the Lakers surged late in the third.
Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony hit 3s, Howard finished around the basket and Malik Monk gave the Lakers great energy and electrified the crowd with a reverse dunk — the run closing the gap to just two heading into the fourth.
Westbrook even moved past Elgin Baylor to No. 32 on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, receiving cheers when the achievement was celebrated on the scoreboard.
The Lakers, though, couldn’t sustain it — too many empty possessions and not enough defense to stop Embiid, Harden and Tyrese Maxey. All three scored more than 20.
And the Lakers were forced to wait, again, for a streak worth celebrating.
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