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The Lakers’ struggles seem to have finally cracked LeBron James.
During Monday’s 114-103 loss to the Raptors, James had two separate on-court outbursts — one that ended in F-bombs and another in which he viciously spiked the ball at Toronto rookie Scottie Barnes.
First, James gave his teammates a fiery earful in the second quarter when LA gave up an offensive rebound and he was called for a foul. He then grabbed the ball and slammed it down hard on the court, while letting F-bombs fly.
That came after Toronto led LA by 24 points in first quarter.
James, who dropped 30 points in 40 minutes, was still fired up in the second half — and Barnes got the brunt of it.
In the third quarter, the two players were racing for a rebound when James grabbed the ball and jumped out of bounds. He then attempted to throw the ball off Barnes to get LA possession, and spiked the ball right at the rookie’s face while he was on the floor.
The Lakers were trailing the Raptors 65-45 at the time.
James — who continues play at an elite level, and put up 50 points last Friday in a win over the Wizards — appears to be fed up with LA’s longstanding struggles. The 37-year-old played 40 minutes against Toronto on Monday, after he was initially a game-time decision due to lingering knee soreness.
The Lakers were on a second night of a back-to-back following a 140-111 loss to the Suns in Phoenix, where James played 30 minutes.
The Lakers are fighting for a spot in the play-in tournament, which begins on April 12.
The ninth-seeded Lakers (29-39) play the No. 7 Timberwolves (40-30) in Minnesota on Wednesday. If the playoffs began today, both teams would be in the play-in round.
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