Video: JJ Redick Rips Lakers After Loss to Nets; LeBron James Injury Not an 'Excuse'

The Los Angeles Lakers have been playing their best basketball of the season recently, but they've now lost back-to-back games after dropping Monday's contest to the Brooklyn Nets 111-108.

The Lakers were without star LeBron James, who suffered a groin injury against the Boston Celtics on Saturday, but head coach JJ Redick said James' absence is no excuse for his team's performance on Monday.

"Very low-level communication game for our team… I don’t think being short-handed is an excuse for how we played basketball tonight," Redick told reporters after the loss.

The Nets outplayed the Lakers in most areas on Monday. They out-rebounded Los Angeles 47-43, also pulling in 16 offensive rebounds to the Lakers' eight.

The Lake Show's new star Luka Dončić had a triple-double with 22 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists, though he shot a lackluster 8-of-26 from the field and turned the ball over five times.

Los Angeles will need more from Dončić in the coming games, especially while James is sidelined.

The loss isn't the end of the world for the Lakers by any means. They've used a strong second half of the season to climb up the Western Conference standings and are currently in third place at 40-23.

But a tough stretch ahead that includes two matchups with the Milwaukee Bucks and two matchups against the Denver Nuggets in the span of eight days will require Los Angeles' best as it looks to stay near the top of the West.