Luka, Lakers frustrated with officiating and themselves in a rough first game without LeBron James

NEW YORK (AP) — LeBron James sat on the end of the Lakers' bench, wearing a red baseball cap while watching his team in the first game since his groin injury.

The red on the court Monday night was in Luka Doncic's face, frustrated by his rocky play and angry with the officiating.

“It was a lot,” Doncic said. “It wasn’t fair but we’ve still got to play the game.”

The Lakers lost 111-108 to the Brooklyn Nets, dropping their second straight after winning eight in a row before falling at Boston on Saturday.

James strained his left groin in the fourth quarter of that game. The Lakers have not said how long they expect the All-Star forward to be sidelined, and coach JJ Redick said Monday that James was still being evaluated to determine the severity of the injury.

The Lakers were also without center Jaxson Hayes (right knee contusion) and forwards Dorian Finney-Smith (left ankle soreness) and Rui Hachimura (left patellar tendinopathy). That put an extra burden on Doncic and fellow guard Austin Reaves, and they both struggled.

Doncic finished with 22 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists but shot 8 for 26 from the field. Reaves missed his first eight shots and finished 3 for 14.

“I just thought I played incredibly bad,” said Reaves, who still managed to finish with 17 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds.

The Lakers started well and led by 15 early in the second quarter before stalling later and finishing with just 19 points in the period as the Nets used a blitzing defense to force the ball out of Doncic's hands.

“I’m comfortable with that. You see the other games, but today wasn’t a good example of me,” Doncic said. “But you can see in the other games when they blitz we’re in good spots.”

Doncic was so frustrated with the officiating that he even got a technical foul for saying something after a call that went his way and gave him free throws. The Lakers shot 19 in the game — four by Doncic — while the Nets went 19 for 30.

“I’m not going to say anything but I think everybody saw the game, so they know what happened,” Doncic said.

James stood up a number of times during the game and dribbled the ball on the court during one stoppage, so perhaps his injury isn't too bad. He said after Saturday's game he was not too concerned it would be a long absence, believing it is not as serious as the groin injury he sustained during a Christmas game in 2018 that forced him to miss the next 17 games.

With the Lakers also starting Gabe Vincent, Alex Len and Dalton Knecht, the first time this season they used that lineup, Redick said before the game that Doncic shouldn't feel pressure to do more in James' absence.

“I think Luka is Luka and we’re not asking him to do anything or be anyone that he’s not,” Redick said. “I think we’re also not asking the other guys to step up and be someone they’re not. We have enough firepower with Austin and Luka as shot creators and we’ll do our best to have shooting out there with them.”

Vincent finished with 24 points and Knecht scored 19, so the Lakers would've had enough to win if Doncic and Reaves played better.

“Not getting calls that you think you should get is frustrating and not making shots is frustrating,” Reaves said. “You’ve got to be able to flip the page from that and lock in on something else to help the team.”

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Los Angeles Lakers' Luka Doncic (77) reacts after a foul was called on the Brooklyn Nets during the second half of an NBA basketball game Monday, March 10, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

Los Angeles Lakers' LeBron James, center, sits on the bench during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Brooklyn Nets, Monday, March 10, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

Los Angeles Lakers' Luka Doncic reacts after a foul was called on him during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Brooklyn Nets, Monday, March 10, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) defends the ball from Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard, left, during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, March 8, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Mark Stockwell)

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) makes an outside shot over Boston Celtics guard Derrick White (9) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, March 8, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Mark Stockwell)

VATICAN CITY (AP) — In his most substantial critique of U.S., Russian and other military incursions in sovereign countries, Pope Leo XIV on Friday denounced how nations were using force to assert their dominion worldwide, “completely undermining” peace and the post-World War II international legal order.

“War is back in vogue and a zeal for war is spreading,” Leo told ambassadors from around the world who represent their countries’ interests at the Holy See.

Leo didn’t name individual countries that have resorted to force in his lengthy speech, the bulk of which he delivered in English in a break from the Vatican’s traditional diplomatic protocol of Italian and French. But his speech came amid the backdrop of the recent U.S. military operation in Venezuela to remove Nicolás Maduro from power, Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine and other conflicts.

The occasion was the pope’s annual audience with the Vatican diplomatic corps, which traditionally amounts to his yearly foreign policy address.

In his first such encounter, history’s first U.S.-born pope delivered much more than the traditional roundup of global hotspots. In a speech that touched on threats to religious freedom and the Catholic Church’s opposition to abortion and surrogacy, Leo lamented how the United Nations and multilateralism as a whole were increasingly under threat.

“A diplomacy that promotes dialogue and seeks consensus among all parties is being replaced by a diplomacy based on force, by either individuals or groups of allies,” he said. “The principle established after the Second World War, which prohibited nations from using force to violate the borders of others, has been completely undermined.”

“Instead, peace is sought through weapons as a condition for asserting one’s own dominion. This gravely threatens the rule of law, which is the foundation of all peaceful civil coexistence,” he said.

Leo did refer explicitly to tensions in Venezuela, calling for a peaceful political solution that keeps in mind the “common good of the peoples and not the defense of partisan interests.”

The U.S. military seized Maduro, the Venezuelan leader, in a surprise nighttime raid. The Trump administration is now seeking to control Venezuela’s oil resources and its government. The U.S. government has insisted Maduro's capture was legal, saying drug cartels operating from Venezuela amounted to unlawful combatants and that the U.S. is now in an “armed conflict” with them.

Analysts and some world leaders have condemned the Venezuela mission, warning that Maduro’s ouster could pave the way for more military interventions and a further erosion of the global legal order.

On Ukraine, Leo repeated his appeal for an immediate ceasefire and urgently called for the international community “not to waver in its commitment to pursuing just and lasting solutions.”

On Gaza, Leo repeated the Holy See’s call for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and insisted on the Palestinians’ right to live in Gaza and the West Bank “in their own land.”

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

Pope Leo XIV holds his weekly general audience in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Pope Leo XIV holds his weekly general audience in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Pope Leo XIV holds his weekly general audience in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)