CHARLOTTE, North Carolina, (Reuters) – The defending champion Los Angeles Lakers were left embarrassed after their worst loss of the season, a 109-89 thrashing by the Charlotte Bobcats on Monday.
One day after a bad 89-75 defeat to the Orlando Magic, the Lakers fell flat in an effort that left head coach Phil Jackson fuming.
“I just have this to say: we’re very disappointed in our performance tonight, we’re embarrassed about what we did, and that’s it,” Jackson told reporters before walking away.
After beginning their current seven-game road trip with four wins, Los Angeles has lost two straight and has dropped eight of their past 10 meetings with the Bobcats (24-31).
Charlotte forward Gerald Wallace recorded 20 points and 11 rebounds while Gerald Henderson added 18 points to lead the Bobcats to a second-half surge that knocked out the Lakers (38-18).
The Bobcats ended the third quarter with a 14-3 spurt to pull 78-60 clear and led by as many as 28 in the fourth.
Kobe Bryant managed 20 points but made just 8 of 20 field goals while Pau Gasol finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds in the defeat.
Los Angeles will look to regroup against the NBA-worst Cleveland Cavaliers today in the finale of their road trip.
