8 reasons LeBron James and the Lakers are 0-3 after an OT loss to the Spurs

LeBron James and the Lakers are 0-3 after a 143-142 overtime shootout loss to the San Antonio Spurs at home Monday night. They’re one of the four remaining winless teams in the league.

Both teams were short of playing at full-strength, but that didn’t come at the cost of drama. (Rajon Rondo and Brandon Ingram missed the game due to their participation in saliva- and arm-launching activities against the Rockets over the weekend, and Dejounte Murray and Lonnie Walker were out to injury.)

A James’ game-tying three-point shot with 2.4 seconds left in regulation sent the game into extra minutes, but a Patty Mills’ mid-range jumper closed things out before James clanked a would-be game-winner off the rim. James also missed a pair of free throws in the overtime, where his 32 points weren’t enough. He was both the hero and an inadequate being in the same night to Lakers fans.

Here’s eight things to know about the closest to a win Los Angeles has had this season.

James had all of four first-half points on 2-of-8 shooting from the field in the first half, missing shots from long and short-range. It was ugly, which is rarely how anything on a basketball court he does is described.

That was all wiped away in the second half, where he shot 9-of-17 for 28 points including a game-tying three though. Bad LeBron never lasts.

In his second home game at Staples Center ever, James dribbled up the court slowly with the clock ticking. Everyone knew what was going to happen, including his defender, Rudy Gay, and nobody could stop it.

James pulled up in Gay’s face and drained the biggest shot of his short career in LA as the Lakers crowd erupted. This is why he’s one of the best to ever do it.

The Lakers are short on big men to start, and JaVale McGee fouling out in 28 minutes could’ve been the game. But two-way player Johnathan Williams from Gonzaga, who isn’t known for shot-blocking, came away with three of them. He was an unexpected key to LA staying in this one, and he finished with eight points and four rebounds in 13 minutes.

Down one point with 11.2 seconds left in overtime, Popovich used DeMar DeRozan as a decoy to win the game, and it was entirely unexpected. DeRozan threw the inbounds to LaMarcus Aldridge, and faked received a handoff to throw off the defense. That allowed Patty Mills to catch Lonzo Ball sleeping on the defensive end and pull-up for the game-winning jumper.

James went to the line with 12.8 seconds to go in overtime with a chance to put his team up three points. That didn’t end well, as James missed both, and it cost them the game.

James stepped-back into a long-two that didn’t go just minutes after he missed the pair of free throws and lose the game.

The buzz in Staples Center was completely zapped, which meant it was time for Twitter to tells us Kobe would have done.

DeRozan seems to be hitting a stride in an unfamiliar offense in San Antonio. He matched James’ 32-14-8 stat line, and his 14 assists notched a career best. The Spurs are going to need all-around production like that all season from their new star to make the playoffs — especially with Murray out for the season after tearing his ACL.

The battle for Best Lakers Youth continued as Kuzma drained everything against the Spurs. He finished with a game-high 37 points on 15-of-25 shooting, including 4-of-10 from three. He was the supplemental scorer James needed to stay in this one at all.

But it wasn’t enough, and now the Lakers are 0-3.