second quarter

Lakers coach JJ Redick points and direct his team during the fourth quarter of a loss to the Rockets on Thursday at Crypto.com Arena.

(Katelyn Mulcahy / Getty Images)

When the Lakers were climbing up the Western Conference standings, improbably winning games with LeBron James and Doncic injured and celebrating Austin Reaves’ 51-point performance and ascent into stardom, the vibes were high. Players jumped off the bench to cheer for each other. They championed team bonding exercises such as slideshow presentations that introduced themselves to each other and a field trip to a Porsche driving experience. It all felt surprisingly easy, especially for a team that had several new additions.

“We had it,” Redick said wistfully Thursday. “We had it. I always say this about culture, I always say this about a good team being a functioning organism.”

Redick snapped his fingers.

“It can change like that,” he continued. “We don’t have it right now.”

All three of the Lakers’ most recent losses have been blowouts. With an average margin of defeat of 20.7 points, their total point differential has dropped to minus-15 on the season, which ranks 16th in the NBA.

Forward Jake LaRavia said in the locker room that there felt like a “disconnect” on the team, but couldn’t verbalize more about how things had turned so suddenly. The team’s seven-game winning streak at the end of November feels like a distant memory, although it should serve as a constant reminder of how a team shouldn’t let its guard down, especially when it was collecting wins off teams with losing records.

“This [has] kind of been the trending thing even when we were winning,” forward Jarred Vanderbilt said. “Obviously wins kinda shadow a lot of stuff. But it’s been the same pretty much all year of how we finished games, lose games: transition defense, rebounding and stuff like that. It’s been a trend all year.”

LeBron James, who played in his 13th game this season after missing the first 14 because of sciatica, had 18 points and five assists but declined to speak with reporters after the game, along with Marcus Smart (six points, two rebounds) and Rui Hachimura (zero points, two assists).

To further exasperate the lingering injury bug, Reaves left the game after the first half because of left calf soreness. It was the same calf that sidelined him for three games last week.

With a dominant performance on both sides of the court, including 46 rebounds and 19 steals, the UCLA women’s basketball team beat Cal Poly 115-28 on Tuesday at Pauley Pavilion.

The UCLA (10-1) defense held the Mustangs (2-8) to three points in the second quarter and forced 31 turnovers and single digit scoring in the last three quarters. The Bruins scored 59 points off turnovers. Senior Lauren Betts earned her third double-double of the season with 20 points and 10 rebounds.

Freshman Sienna Betts, the No. 2 recruit from the 2025 class, played her first minutes with the Bruins, sharing the court with her sister for the first time for UCLA. She scored her first field goal in the fourth to give the Bruins their first 100-point game since December 2024 against Long Beach State, which they will face on Sunday.

Sienna earned her first assist in the first quarter with a pass to, who else but, Lauren as she was driving to the basket. Sienna grabbed her first points in her collegiate career off the free-throw line and finished the game with five points and two assists while playing under restricted minutes after missing the first part of the season with a leg injury.

The No. 4 Bruins closed the second quarter with 27 unanswered points, punctuated by a three-pointer by Angela Dugalić at the buzzer.

The Bruins finished the game with five players scoring in double digits. By the end of the third quarter, UCLA held a 70-point lead.

It was déjà vu for the Mustangs, who lost to the Bruins, 69-37, exactly a year ago. Cal Poly was without leading scorer Vanessa McManus.