Los Angeles Lakers’ Luka Doncic (77) dribbles the ball against Brooklyn Nets’ Keon Johnson (45) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Monday, March 10, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

The Lakers’ scorching start post-Luka Dončić trade has hit a wall.

After a loss to the reigning champion Celtics on Saturday, the Lakers lost, 111-108 on the road to the 12th-place Brooklyn Nets on Monday.

Dončić posted a triple-double and hit a deep 3 in the game’s final seconds to keep the Lakers afloat. But it wasn’t enough against the 21-win Nets for a Lakers team playing without LeBron James. James is expected to miss 1-2 weeks with a groin strain suffered against the Celtics.

The Lakers looked little worse for wear without James in the early stages of the game as they opened up a 31-16 lead early in the second quarter. But the Nets battled back to take a 48-47 lead into halftime, and the Lakers never wrested back control of the game.

The Nets turned a back-and-fourth game in the fourth quarter into a two-possession lead that stood at 106-100 with 59.1 seconds remaining. A Ziaire Williams bucket with 13.1 seconds remaining appeared to put the game to bed for the Nets with a 108-103 advantage.

Dončić kept the Lakers in the game with a pull-up 3 from 35 feet in response that cut the Nets lead to 108-106 with 9.1 seconds left. But the Lakers allowed Noah Clowney to score an uncontested dunk on Brooklyn’s ensuing inbounds play that all but ended any hopes of a Lakers miracle comeback.

Dončić finished the night with 22 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists for his second triple-double in 12 games since joining the Lakers. But he shot just 8 of 26 (30.8%) from the field on an inefficient scoring night.

This story will be updated.