Coming off a season-high 40 points, LeBron James was expected to turn up big for the LA Lakers Christmas Day showdown against the Boston Celtics at home. However, it wasn’t meant to be the four-time NBA MVP’s night. LeBron has rare occurrences where he’s underwhelmed on big nights, and Monday was one of those moments.

LeBron James' missed foul vs. Celtics worst game 'mentally' since 2018 Finals (report) - masslive.com

The LA Lakers star produced 16 points on only 5-of-16 shooting in a 126-115 loss to the Celtics. LeBron missed several easy layups that he never misses and also recorded three turnovers. He didn’t look as engaged from the get-go. The LA Lakers even staged an improbable comeback after going down by 17 points in the first quarter. LA took a 66-64 lead early in the third but couldn’t sustain it.

A more efficient outing from LeBron James could’ve proved decisive as the game was close until early in the fourth quarter. The Celtics dominated the contest down the stretch, similar to how they started the game.

The LA Lakers faithful didn’t stop themselves from expressing their frustration with LeBron’s off night. One fan wrote:
“LIKE WTF IS LEBRON DOING U SOLD THE F**KIN GAME”

More reactions followed:

LeBron James and LA Lakers are yet to break out of their post-NBA Cup win slump

LeBron James and the LA Lakers have lost six of their last eight games. All of these were played after their NBA Cup win on Dec. 9. The team was on a four-game-skid, too. They snapped that against the OKC Thunder in their last outing.

The LA Lakers looked like they had rediscovered their mojo, but the loss against the Celtics saw them commit the same mistakes they had amid their losing streak before the OKC game. Darvin Ham’s rotations were questionable in the clutch.

The LA Lakers didn’t make frequent adjustments, often sticking to their all-wing and Anthony Davis at the five lineup, which was offensively misfiring on nearly every possession. Ham kept the players in good rhythm on limited minutes. D’Angelo Russell scored eight points on 4-of-6 shots but played only 17 minutes.

Christian Wood collected another DNP (did not play). The LA Lakers could’ve used his scoring, size and spacing against a bigger and better shooting team like Boston.

Anthony Davis remained the lone bright spot for the Purple and Gold. He tallied a game-high 40 points along with 13 rebounds, four assists and a block on 57.7% shooting. “AD” kept the LA Lakers in the game, but it wasn’t enough, as LeBron James and others failed to get going.