Darvin Ham got his chance early Friday night to make a statement. Two hours later, it was the Lakers’ turn.
Facing what could be called a midseason crisis, the Lakers needed to approach Friday with the kind of attention and force the moment demanded, a chance to end a losing streak before hosting the red-hot Clippers on Sunday.
But instead of failing to meet the moment with effort, the Lakers, in some ways just as they did against the Miami Heat on Wednesday, failed to meet the moment with competency, replacing turnovers and bricks for slow closeouts on shooters and panicked late-game offense.