All of a sudden, Lakers facing uphill climb

DALLAS — The bleak timeline for Luka Doncic's return from injury was already out there when the Los Angeles Lakers got word that Austin Reaves also wouldn't play again in the regular season. LeBron James woke up from a nap to find out about the prognosis on Reaves' strained left oblique. He had gone to sleep knowing the outlook on a strained left hamstring for Doncic, the NBA scoring leader. "It was a shot to the heart and to the chest and the main frame with Luka, and we got that news kind of quick," James said after the Lakers' 134-128 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday night. "And (Reaves), he's kind of dealing with the pain, we're saying, 'OK, whatever the case may be.' "I woke up from my nap yesterday and then saw that news, I was like ... (expletive)," James said, pausing for several seconds before punctuating his thought. For now, the playoff-bound Lakers will lean on James as their primary scorer and floor leader, while keeping in mind the 41-year-old is wrapping up his record 23rd NBA season. Sure enough, James had 30 points and 15 assists against the Mavericks but did struggle in the fourth quarter after sparking a rally in the second. He was 2-for-7 from the field in the final 12 minutes and missed both free throws when the deficit was eight with 3:50 remaining. "I think we have to be mindful of that. I think that's a valid question," coach JJ Redick said before the game. "For all our guys, him included, we want to put them in positions to be successful. Certain guys are gonna be tasked with doing stuff they haven't done a lot of this year." Doncic and Reaves, LA's No. 2 scorer, both were injured in a blowout loss to Oklahoma City on Thursday night. Of course, Doncic is the centerpiece of that conversation as an MVP candidate who will finish the season one game short of the 65 required to be eligible for that and other postseason awards. "I just know that he's gonna do everything he can to try to be back," Redick said. "I talked to him Friday, I talked him again (Saturday), I talked with him again (Sunday) morning. He's gonna go through all the necessary things to be back at some point, and it's our job again to extend the season so that both those guys can get back." On Sunday, ESPN reported that Doncic will go to Europe to seek specialized treatment on his hamstring, citing agent Bill Duffy of WME Basketball. Redick spoke of point guard by committee, an approach made necessary by another absence in Marcus Smart, who has a right ankle injury. Redick included James' son, Bronny James, in that mix along with Luke Kennard, Nick Smith Jr. and the seldom-used Kobe Bufkin. Kennard had his first career triple-double with 15 points, a career-high 16 rebounds and 11 assists, but had a rough shooting nigh against the Mavericks, going 5-of-17. Among the others mentioned by Redick, only Bronny James played more than five minutes, scoring five points in nine minutes. "I think simplicity wins," Redick said. "It's nothing too crazy. But it's just being really simple with the menu and hopefully over the next five games, we can really figure out what works for this group. And that's obviously trial and error." James had a triple-double with 21 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists in a victory over Washington last week when Doncic was serving a one-game suspension for receiving his 16th technical foul this season. The loss to Dallas dropped the Lakers into a third-place tie with Denver in the Western Conference. Fifth-place Houston could end up chasing home-court advantage in the first round as well, particularly with the Lakers so wounded. Rui Hachimura scored 12 of his 21 points in the first quarter against the Mavericks, who built a 22-point lead before halftime and held on despite James' strong showing and 23 points from backup center Jaxson Hayes. The Lakers shot 52% with 36 assists, two off their season high, but let the Mavs match that 52%. Dallas, one of the NBA's worst teams from 3-point range, made 14-of-32 (44%). "We've got a week left of the regular season and then a week to prepare and we've gotta have the commitment to do it on both ends," Redick said after the game. "That's the reason that we've put ourselves in the position to be in the playoffs is because we became a really good offensive team and a really good defensive team. So it's gotta be the commitment to both ends."