Lakers guard Russell Westbrook passes from the floor as Indiana Pacers forward Isaiah Jackson, left, and guard Chris Duarte, right, defend during the second half of Wednesday night’s game at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Lakers forward LeBron James shoots as Indiana Pacers forward Domantas Sabonis defends during the first half on Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Indiana Pacers forward Domantas Sabonis drives to the basket in front of Lakers center Dwight Howard, left, guard Russell Westbrook, center, and forward LeBron James during the first half on Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Lakers guard Austin Reaves shoots during the first half of their game against the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Indiana Pacers forward Torrey Craig reacts to a foul call during the first half of their game against the Lakers on Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Indiana Pacers forward Domantas Sabonis defends against Lakers guard Russell Westbrook during the first half on Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
The Indiana Pacers’ Oshae Brissett attempts a shot over Lakers guard Malik Monk as Lakers forward Carmelo Anthony, right, looks for a potential rebound during the first half on Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Indiana Pacers guard Caris LeVert defends against Lakers guard Austin Reaves during the first half on Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
The Indiana Pacers’ Chris Duarte drives to the basket as Lakers forward Trevor Ariza defends during the first half on Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
The Indiana Pacers’ Goga Bitadze scores in front of Lakers forward Stanley Johnson, right, as Lakers forward Trevor Ariza looks on during the first half on Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Lakers forward LeBron James gets to the basket for a layup during the first half of their game against the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Lakers forward LeBron James, left, high-fives forward Carmelo Anthony during the first half of their game against the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Indiana Pacers forward Domantas Sabonis dunks over the Lakers’ Carmelo Anthony, right, and Austin Reaves, left, during the first half on Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle reacts after a timeout during the first half against the Lakers on Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
The Indiana Pacers’ Chris Duarte attempts a shot in front of the Lakers’ Carmelo Anthony (7), LeBron James, left, and Malik Monk during the first half on Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Indiana Pacers forward Domantas Sabonis reacts as his shot is blocked by Lakers center Dwight Howard during the first half on Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Lakers forward LeBron James passes as Indiana Pacers forward Domantas Sabonis, center, and forward Oshae Brissett defend during the first half on Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
The Indiana Pacers’ Lance Stephenson reacts to an offensive foul called against him as the Lakers’ Carmelo Anthony looks on during the first half on Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Lakers forward LeBron James is helped off the floor by guard Russell Westbrook, right, during the first half of their game against the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Lakers guard Austin Reaves controls a rebound in front of the Indiana Pacers’ Caris LeVert during the first half on Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
The Indiana Pacers’ Justin Holiday scores on a layup past the Lakers’ LeBron James during the first half on Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
The Indiana Pacers’ Torrey Craig has his shot blocked by Lakers forward Trevor Ariza during the first half on Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Lakers guard Russell Westbrook celebrates after making a 3-pointer during the first half of their game against the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Lakers head coach Frank Vogel, center, watches play during the first half of their game against the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
The Indiana Pacers’ Torrey Craig drives to the basket as Lakers guard Avery Bradley, right, and Lakers forward Carmelo Anthony defend during the first half on Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
The Indiana Pacers’ Caris LeVert attempts a shot in front of Lakers forward Carmelo Anthony during the first half on Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Lakers guard Malik Monk defends against Indiana Pacers guard Jeremy Lamb during the second half on Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Lakers guard Russell Westbrook passes from the floor as Indiana Pacers forward Isaiah Jackson, left, and guard Chris Duarte, right, defend during the second half on Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Indiana Pacers guard Malcolm Brogdon keeps the ball inbounds during the second half of their game against the Lakers on Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Lakers guard Malik Monk dunks as the Indiana Pacers’ Jeremy Lamb, left, and Justin Holiday look on Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
The Indiana Pacers’ Torrey Craig blocks a shot by the Lakers’ Talen Horton-Tucker on Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Lakers forward LeBron James reacts after his dunk against the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Lakers forward Trevor Ariza defends against Indiana Pacers guard Malcolm Brogdon during the second half on Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Lakers guard Talen Horton-Tucker scores on a layup past Indiana Pacers forward Domantas Sabonis on Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Indiana Pacers guard Malcolm Brogdon shoots as Lakers forward Trevor Ariza defends during the second half on Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Lakers guard Talen Horton-Tucker drives to the basket on as Indiana Pacers forward Domantas Sabonis, center, and Justin Holiday defend on Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Indiana Pacers forward Domantas Sabonis celebrates their lead as Lakers forward LeBron James walks to the bench during a timeout on Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Lakers forward LeBron James, right, and guard Austin Reaves walk back to the court after a timeout during the second half of their game against the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
The Indiana Pacers’ Caris LeVert, left, celebrates with Torrey Craig as Lakers head coach Frank Vogel calls a timeout during the second half on Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Indiana Pacers players celebrate with guard Caris LeVert (22) during the second half of their game against the Lakers on Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Lakers head coach Frank Vogel looks on from the sidelines during their game against the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Lakers forward Carmelo Anthony, right, shakes hands with the Indiana Pacers’ Caris LeVert on Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES — Going into the season, the expectations were so towering, so sky-high, it would have been impossible to conceive how much of the Lakers’ future might hinge on a January game against an Indiana Pacers team that is hanging around the basement of the Eastern Conference standings.
And yet, every teardrop by Caris LeVert, every pick-and-roll finish by Domantas Sabonis felt hugely consequential on Wednesday night, a sign of how precarious the Lakers’ season has become.
After the highs of a convincing win against the Utah Jazz, the up-and-down Lakers (22-23) took another dive back down to earth in a 111-104 loss to Indiana, the latest setback in a season riddled with them. Amid mounting furor that Coach Frank Vogel’s job could be in serious jeopardy, it was a tough look for a team that is just 6-9 since All-Star big man Anthony Davis was injured.
Perhaps the most striking sight was off the court: Russell Westbrook, with his jersey untucked, looking steamed as the Lakers finished the final 3:52 without him in the lineup. The 33-year-old was just 5 for 17 from the floor with 14 points, but being benched during crunch time is not in the 2017 MVP’s repertoire. He wound up leaving the floor seconds before the game ended, disappearing into the tunnel before lighting out of the arena without speaking to reporters.
Vogel’s comment on the decision was damning, though whether more to Westbrook or himself remains up in the air: “(I was) playing the guys that I thought were going to win the game.”
The Lakers lost without him, anyway, outscored 35-24 in a fourth quarter that saw Indiana score 10 straight points. LeVert was punishing at the end, winding up with 30 points to pace Indiana’s offense. A stunning 22 of his points (on 9-for-10 shooting) came in the fourth quarter alone, and the Pacers also outrebounded the Lakers 14-7 as they stuck with a small-ball scheme that has generally kickstarted their offense.
LeBron James finished with 30 points for the Lakers, but he was the only starter other than Westbrook in double figures. Talen Horton-Tucker scored 20 points on an impressive 9-for-14 shooting, while Carmelo Anthony had 14 points in his return from injury.
James resisted commenting on his Vogel’s job security, saying that the coaching staff had been “great” in recent weeks and he had “no blame” for them. Focusing on the evening’s events, James said the Lakers didn’t play poorly – they simply fell prey to a microwave scorer at the wrong time.
“In the fourth quarter, a guy got hot and exploited our game plan, which can happen,” he said. “And Caris, he just took that fourth quarter over.”
Anthony was slightly more candid, putting the onus on the players to turn things around.
“It’s up to us. … Frank not out there,” he said. “It’s up to us to go out there and execute and play basketball and win some games. When we’re doing it in that fashion, it looks good, it feels good, everybody’s happy. But when we don’t, we lose games, it looks bad, guys are frustrated at whatever.”
Yahoo Sports was first to report that the Lakers would not fire Vogel, who was scheduled to fly to Orlando, where the team begins a six-game trip with Friday’s game against the Magic. Still, Vogel’s decision to bench Westbrook is likely to ripple out into future games. Both James and Anthony acknowledged that Westbrook was frustrated by the decision.
Westbrook wound up playing less than 27 minutes, the tail end of a trend that has seen his minutes squeezed at the close of tight games. The Lakers didn’t play him for nearly eight minutes in the fourth quarter of Monday’s victory over the Utah Jazz, which was considered one of the team’s great successes of the season.
Feisty defense again played into a hot start for the Lakers, who contested shots and scrapped their way to a 15-point lead in the second quarter. James got going early, hitting six of his first eight shots, including a stepback against Indy big man Sabonis (over whom he drilled an overtime dagger over back in November).
Even Westbrook, who has been cold for much of the month, surprised with early prowess from behind the arc: He drilled his first three 3-point shots.
But again, closing the half was an issue for the Lakers who went cold against Indiana’s switch to a zone scheme. While James had one of the last big highlights of the second quarter with a reverse alley-oop – one in which he had to duck to avoid the rim – Indiana drilled its last shot to cut the margin to six points at the intermission.
Those doldrums continued into the third quarter as Westbrook and James went just 2 for 10 in that period as the Pacers took their first lead. Coming off a month-long Achilles injury, Malcolm Brogdon helped lift his squad with confident drives and playmaking, finishing with 19 points and six assists.
Faced with the latest defeat amid reports that his job is being evaluated game-by-game, Vogel said that the recent losses, including a 37-point loss to Denver over the weekend, didn’t feel any more consequential than earlier ones this season.
“Honestly, every loss feels the same to me,” he said. “You pour your heart and soul into it, and you prepare your team and you go to battle. And you lose the first, second game of the year, lose this one, it’s still a loss.”
“Playing the guys that I thought were going to win the game.” Frank Vogel on his decision to sub out Russell Westbrook for the final four minutes of the game. pic.twitter.com/M1PgbMNF0F
"Coaching staff has been great. They've put us in a position to succeed and we have to take care of business… There's no blame." @KingJames on the coaching staff and tonight's loss. pic.twitter.com/1M4yi4HUYZ
.@carmeloanthony spoke post-game about Caris LeVert's fourth quarter, the upcoming roadtrip and Russ getting subbed out for the final four minutes. pic.twitter.com/id9eiiHl20
