Lakers News: LeBron James, Anthony Davis Talk Game 3 Loss, Concern Level

A loss in Game 3 of the 2020 NBA Finals? That's not going to make the Los Angeles Lakers worry. At least not based on the players' comments following Sunday night's game at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Disney World.

Prior to Sunday, the Lakers had been on a roll. They won Games 1 and 2 against the Miami Heat, who lost a pair of key starters in the opening contest of the series—point guard Goran Dragic (left foot torn plantar fascia) and forward Bam Adebayo (neck strain). And neither has returned from his injury.

However, Los Angeles got off to a rough start in Game 3, scoring only 23 points, committing 10 turnovers and seeing its leading scorer, forward Anthony Davis, get into foul trouble in the first quarter. And despite the game still being close in the final 12 minutes, Miami went on a late surge to record its first victory of the series.

Still, the Lakers don't appear likely to dwell on it, quickly shifting the focus to Tuesday's Game 4.

"I don't ever feel like we let our guard down," Lakers star forward LeBron James told the media. "Also, I don't feel like we're concerned. We're not concerned. We know we can play a lot better. We have another opportunity to take a commanding lead on Tuesday. You relish that opportunity."

Davis cited "silly turnovers" and "offensive fouls [and] miscommunication on some passes" as the reasons for Los Angeles' first loss of the series. But like James, he's not showing any worry that this defeat could have lingering effects moving forward.

"Trust me, we'll be fine," Davis told reporters.

This isn't the first problem that the Lakers have faced during the postseason. They lost Game 1 in both their first- and second-round series against the Portland Trail Blazers and Houston Rockets, respectively. And they responded in each series by winning four straight games.

In the Western Conference Finals, Los Angeles jumped out to a 2-0 lead before falling to the Denver Nuggets in Game 3. Again, the Lakers bounced back to take the series in five.

Los Angeles ended up with 20 turnovers in Sunday's loss, giving it a clear point to fix ahead of its next matchup.

"When we watch film [Monday], there's a lot of people that are going to get their ass chewed out, and we'll respond better in Game 4," veteran forward Markieff Morris told reporters.

If this series goes like the Western Conference Finals, the Lakers would win the NBA title Friday. But that will depend on how L.A. fares when it returns to the court Tuesday and whether it can turn the page and return to its typical high level of play.