LeBron James is 36 points shy of the Lakers’ losing streak

Count: five seconds. Hardly enough time for anything significant to happen in the first 47 minutes of an NBA game.

But Saturday night, five bad seconds late in the third quarter turned the game around and helped lead to Lakers home losers, 131-126 yes New Orleans Pelicanswho have lost their last 10 games.

The Lakers (25-29) dropped to 13th in the 15-team Western Conference, but still lack a playoff spot by just two games.

New Orleans led for just 13 seconds before storming Los Angeles in the fourth quarter thanks to a disastrous third-quarter finish by the Lakers that began with an easy layup by the Pelicans, followed by a fumbled inbounds pass, a Pelicans steal and momentum. brandishing three.

It’s the kind of frustrations that have led to growing frustration in the Lakers locker room about what coach Darwin Hamm calls “self-protective” errors.

On Saturday, mistakes – none more so than Venien Gabriel’s inbound pass – proved fatal.

“How many games do we have left?” LeBron James said after scoring 27 points to pass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s 36 for the NBA record.

“Twenty-eight games to go, we’re still doing the same thing over and over again.”

There may be changes – the deadline for bidding is Thursday. But after a day of rampant speculation, there is pessimism that the Lakers will make a deal for Kyrie Irving because Brooklyn’s star point guard is seeking free agency this summer, sources with knowledge of the situation who were not authorized to speak publicly told The Times. .

Irving is expected to seek a four-year max deal, while the Lakers prefer a two-year deal that matches the two years remaining on James’ contract.

When asked if Irving is the type of player who could bring the Lakers closer to championship contention, James said of course.

“Obviously it’s – what word do you use? “Spirit” is a question when you talk about such a player,” he added.

The Lakers’ current star point guard, Russell Westbrookwho has been in trade rumors for much of his time in Los Angeles, denied that the deadline negatively affects the locker room, as did Anthony Davis and James.

“It’s part of the game,” James said. “We have, what, one beginner here. Shouldn’t be a problem. It happens every year. The trade deadline happens every year.”

After scoring 72 points in the first half and leading by 12, the Lakers got lazy defensively in the second half, reaching the game-changing final seconds of the third.

With the Lakers up by eight in the final 10 seconds, Westbrook turned his attention to C.J. McCollum, the Pelicans guard’s easy drive to the basket for two of his 23 points. Gabriel threw a brutal crosscourt pass that McCollum tipped in and Jose Alvarado intercepted, the Pelicans guard made a three to cut the Lakers’ lead to three, igniting the crowd.

It’s the type of steal Alvarado is known for and the play the Lakers discussed in their scouting report. That started a streak in which the Pelicans scored 14 of the next 16 points and Los Angeles never led again.

“It’s disappointing at this stage of the game. This is disappointing. But, I mean, you just have to know. All antennas should be up,” Hamm said. “You have to constantly try to improve possession after possession on both sides of the ball. And we just had a mistake. We had a mental breakdown.”

After strong late wins in New York and Indiana, the Lakers spoiled Saturday’s end, making just seven of their final 21 shots. Davis, who scored 34 points, had just two in the fourth.

Westbrook, who was questionable with an illness before being released during the game, played just 58 seconds in the quarter and Hamm opted to close the game with James, Davis, Patrick Beverley, Dennis Schroder and Troy Brown Jr.

Former Laker Brandon Ingram scored 35 points to lead the Pelicans.

The Lakers return home for a game against Oklahoma City on Tuesday, and James is setting a record.

“I just want to win,” he said. “I want to play the game right and see what happens.”