The Lakers, the league's best defense since Jan. 15, will have to rely more on that end of the floor to generate transition offense.

After blowing huge leads in back-to-back games against Golden State and Charlotte, when the Nets got the Lakers down on Monday, they kept them down. The Nets put together a slump-busting 111-108 victory over the Lakers before a sellout crowd of 18,

The Los Angeles Lakers had been thriving since trading for Luka Dončić, climbing all the way to the No. 2 seed in the West. But, after LeBron James suffered a left groin strain Saturday against the Boston Celtics, the Lakers are now facing a stretch where they may be down three starters.