LeBron James: Lakers 'as Connected as We've Been in Quite Awhile' in Loss to Warriors

Despite the Los Angeles Lakers loss to the Golden State Warriors on Saturday, LeBron James said he still saw some positives even in defeat.

"The result was different than what we'd like, but that was as connected as we've been in quite a while," James said, per Marc J. Spears of ESPN's The Undefeated. James added that the team likely improved their play with the conclusion of the trade deadline.

The Lakers fell to 26-31 after the 117-115 loss, which was their third straight. Los Angeles has a 9-18 record in away games. Three of the team's last four losses have come by two points or less.

James had 26 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists, but he came up short in a crucial moment. He was fouled by Stephen Curry while shooting a three-pointer with 2.4 seconds left and down three, but he missed the first of three free throws.

After making the second and intentionally missing the third, the Lakers couldn't get another shot off before the buzzer sounded.

Los Angeles played a fairly clean game against Golden State, which has the second-best record in the league at 42-15. The Lakers had 25 assists to just nine turnovers and shot 40.7 percent from beyond the arc.

James was one of six players to score in double figures. Russell Westbrook played one of his better games with 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting to go with seven rebounds, five assists and just one turnover.

The Lakers will have some time off before returning to action on Wednesday against the Utah Jazz (35-21) in Los Angeles. That game will be the team's last before the All-Star break.