The stage was set: Luka Dončić vs. Yaxel Lendeborg. Lakers vs. Warriors. The Emirates NBA Cup. E-40 in the building. And the Lakers forgot a basketball game lasted longer than one quarter.
Dončić returned to the lineup after missing last game, leaving Ziaire Williams, Adou Thiero and Cameron Carr as the only Lakers out. Inconsequential scratches from the lineup? Not really, but the Los Angeles still had much of its core rotation ready to go against a Warriors team they vanquished on opening night.
Instead, the Lakers bench combined for seven points on 3-of-15 shooting and basically everyone not named Luka Dončić was disastrous en route to one of the worst losses in recent memory.