The Los Angeles Lakers could not keep their perfect start to 2026 alive, dropping a 107-91 decision to the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night, Jan. 7, at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio. Playing without LeBron James and Austin Reaves on the back end of a two-game road swing, Los Angeles struggled to generate consistent offense and saw its three-game winning streak snapped.
Early foul trouble sets the tone
Luka Doncic opened aggressively, scoring the Lakers’ first three points, but San Antonio took control at the free-throw line. Jarred Vanderbilt, starting in place of James, picked up two quick fouls, and the Spurs built a 14-7 cushion before Los Angeles steadied itself. Doncic connected with Dalton Knecht and Jaxson Hayes for alley-oop finishes and fed Gabe Vincent—back after missing nine games—for a corner three, trimming the deficit to 26-23 after one quarter.
Spurs regain lead before halftime
With Doncic resting early in the second, Victor Wembanyama protected the rim and the Lakers went cold. Doncic’s return sparked a brief surge highlighted by back-to-back Jake LaRavia three-pointers that momentarily put Los Angeles on top, but another shooting slump allowed San Antonio to take a 48-43 advantage into the break.
Johnson’s hot hand widens gap
Turnovers on the first two possessions of the third quarter undermined the Lakers’ comeback hopes. Vanderbilt converted a pair of layups to keep things close, yet Keldon Johnson caught fire for San Antonio, helping the Spurs stretch the margin to 14. The hosts carried a 79-68 lead into the fourth.
Late push falls short
LaRavia and rookie Nick Smith Jr. buried early fourth-quarter triples to bring the Lakers within single digits, but Smith’s quick heat-check miss led to an easy Spurs basket and an L.A. timeout. The gap hovered near 10 points the rest of the way as the exhausted Lakers could not mount another run.
Los Angeles (now 3-1 in 2026) heads back to Crypto.com Arena to face the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday before visiting the Sacramento Kings on Monday. San Antonio improved to 2-2 in the new year.
Source: Lakers Nation
