The Los Angeles Lakers got a harsh reminder of what happens when the effort is not there on Tuesday night, falling to the San Antonio Spurs 136-108 at Crypto.com Arena.

The game got away from the Lakers almost immediately, and head coach JJ Redick did not hold back when talking about what went wrong.

"I mean, there's always things you can learn. But I mean, we got blitzed from the beginning," Redick said after the loss. "It felt like, you have some of these games, and I don't know the belief level of the guys that were out there. You had some of these games that you're thinking to yourself, 'Oh, I'm gonna get more shots tonight.' And you just come out with zero, zero intent defensively and zero execution. That Wemby blitzed us and we didn't execute what we were trying to do."

Redick was not exaggerating. Victor Wembanyama came out on fire, scoring 37 of his 40 points in the first half alone on 13-of-20 shooting with 12 rebounds.

It was the highest-scoring first half by any player in the NBA this season.

On the year, Wembanyama is averaging 23.9 points and 11.1 rebounds for a Spurs team sitting at 37-16 after winning five straight.

He played just 26 minutes before sitting for good, which tells you everything you need to know about how lopsided things were.

The Spurs led 47-30 after the first quarter, tying a franchise record for first-quarter scoring, and took an 84-55 lead into halftime.

Context matters, and the Lakers were extremely short-handed. Luka Doncic missed his third straight game with a hamstring strain, and the 32.8 points and 8.6 assists per game he brings were sorely missed.

LeBron James sat with left foot arthritis, Austin Reaves rested a calf injury, and Marcus Smart and Deandre Ayton were also out.

That left a lineup of mostly reserves to take on one of the best teams in the West.
Luke Kennard and Drew Timme each led the Lakers with 14 points, while Bronny James chipped in a season-high 12.

But the game never felt competitive.

The loss drops the Lakers to 32-21 on the season, fifth in the Western Conference.

The Lakers host the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday in their final game before the All-Star break, and it should give them a chance to bounce back.

Dallas comes in riding an eight-game losing streak at 19-34 after falling to the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday.

The big question is whether Doncic will be available against his former team.

He participated in a 5-on-5 session with contact on Tuesday and has not ruled out playing Thursday.

Getting him back would be a huge boost, but even without him the Lakers should handle a struggling Mavericks squad if they bring the effort that was missing on Tuesday.