LeBron James was far from the elite player in the final 12 seconds of the Lakers’ loss to the Bulls.

The Los Angeles Lakers lost a 119-117 thriller against the Chicago Bulls. The game became a back-and-forth rollercoaster in the final moments.

Eagle-eyed fans have pointed to the last 12 seconds of the game, where LeBron James made several big mistakes that would cost the Lakers the win, despite having a strong performance for the first three quarters of the game.

With 12.1 seconds to go, the Bulls were down by five points, with the score being 110-115 in favor of the Lakers. Patrick Williams would make a three-pointer after some lackadaisical defense from LeBron James.

Things got worse when LeBron turned the ball over with a dismal check-ball, allowing Coby white to make another three-pointer to take a one-point lead over the Lakers.

Austin Reaves would go on to snatch the lead back for the Lakers, making a layup with 3.1 seconds left in the game. LeBron looked like he would get away with his mistakes.

However, Josh Giddey rushed to bring the ball up, thanks to LeBron being too slow in closing him down. The Bulls’ star took a massive hail-mary shot from half-court to steal the win over the Lakers.

It was not a good look for LeBron, who has been so good this season, to be so lax on both ends of the floor. While James is 40 years old, he has shown that he can play at the highest level, so he shouldn’t be losing his focus with just seconds remaining in a close game.

It’s hard to remember the last time LeBron had a 12-second stretch worse than the one he had last night. James even admitted after the game that the blame lay with him after he made such a disastrous mistake. It did put a damper on what had been a strong performance from LeBron during the game.

He had 17 points (8-20 FG), five rebounds, 12 assists, and two steals. But when the rubber met the road, James seemingly lost focus and caused the Lakers to lose yet another important game heading into the final stretch of the NBA season. The Lakers now stay fourth in the Western Conference with a 44-29 record.

With just nine games remaining, including four games against the top two teams in the Western Conference, the Thunder and the Rockets, the Lakers have to aspire to win as many games as possible to give themselves a strong chance to reach the Western Conference Finals.

If they stay fourth in the West, they will have to face the Oklahoma City Thunder, barring any first-round upsets, in the second round. Whereas a second or third seed would allow the Lakers to avoid facing OKC, the heavy favorites to reach the Western Conference Finals, before that stage.

This next run of games is crucial for the Lakers, and they cannot afford to drop any further in the West, as it would hurt their playoff chances.