“LeBron James is your best free throw shooter?”: Kyrie Irving ridicules Lakers star after he misses a technical free throw for a defensive 3-second intervention

LeBron James did his best for the Lakers in their 109-98 last night. But when he missed a technical free throw, Kyrie Irving trolled him for it.

Both the Lakers and the Nets were without their stars at Staples Center for their first showdown of the season. While Kevin Durant is out with a hamstring problem, Anthony Davis has been ruled out till the All-Star break.

Davis is nursing a calf problem which also affected his Achilles tendon in the little game time he’s had this year. He’s usually the Lakers’ designated shooter for technical free throws. If Dennis Schroder had been in action, he would have been assigned these duties.

LeBron James is a career 74% free throw shooter, and he’s shooting below that this year. But in his absence, James had to step up for these duties.

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James clanked his free throw, causing Irving to react in hilarious fashion. He turned away from James before saying “That’s your best free throw shooter?”

LeBron James was unable to stop the Nets’ offensive burst last night

Missing your second- and third-best players is a big deal on most nights, but doubly so against a marauding Nets team. They’d been riding high on a 4-game win streak before this encounter, and this reflected in their play.

The Nets took a first-quarter lead that they never relinquished. LeBron James fought a lone ranger’s battle, going off for 32 points on 14-of-23 shooting. He was merciless while taking it to the rack when the Nets trotted out their small-ball lineup.

James was, however, not that great from range, going only 1-of-6 from downtown. The Nets mainly outpaced the Lakers with their 3-point shooting, netting 18 of their 39 attempts from range. This was in contrast to the Lakers only making 8 of their 30 looks.

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Harden was the best performer for the Nets on the night, tallying 23 points and 11 assists effortlessly. Overall, the Nets seem a lot more equipped to deal with KD’s absence than the Lakers are without AD.