There’s no way to talk about the Lakers poor free-throw shooting on Saturday night without pointing to one very obvious, very important and very costly set of shots. Down three points in the final seconds, LeBron James drew a foul on a 3-pointer, then promptly missed the first free throw.
James would make the second before intentionally missing the third as the Lakers were unsuccessful in their last-ditch attempt to tie or win the game. Ultimately, James going 1/3 in the decisive moment of the game was a perfect encapsulation of the Lakers free-throw shooting on the night and the season.