Luka Doncic has ‘unacceptable’ performance as Lakers’ season reaches pivotal moment

“Luka Magic” hasn’t been so enchanting recently — and it’s coming at the worst time for his new team.

Lakers superstar Luka Doncic had a horrific showing by his standards on Thursday night when Los Angeles dropped a pivotal Western Conference matchup to the Warriors, 123-116.

Doncic, who scored just 19 points, took responsibility for the loss as he watched running mates LeBron James and Austin Reaves each score 30-plus.

“That performance by me is unacceptable,” Doncic told reporters postgame after a rough 6-for-17 shooting night from the field, which included 0-for-6 from 3-point range.

Coach JJ Redick echoed that sentiment after the game.

“It wasn’t his night,” Redick said after the game.

Doncic had a chance to make it right in the game’s final minute.

After a Reaves’ 3-pointer to narrow the score to 119-113 with just 58.1 seconds left, Los Angeles forced a Warriors missed shot where Doncic was given the ball.

When driving to the lane for a layup, Doncic had the ball knocked free by Defensive Player of the Year candidate Draymond Green.

On the ensuing possession, James forced an errant pass from Green, which was collected by the Lakers, where role player Dorian Finney-Smith appeared to have a miscommunication with Doncic and turned the ball over, sealing their fate.

The poor performance from Doncic has been the trend for the Lakers recently.

He has had an extremely inconsistent jump shot, particularly from beyond the arc in recent games, shooting just 3-for-22 in his past three games.

The Lakers acquired Doncic in exchange for Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a first-round draft pick in a shocking February trade deadline deal that set the NBA world ablaze with curiosity about how it would work out.

Doncic is undoubtedly in poor form right now and had been previously criticized by his former Mavericks team for being out of shape; However, he has played 38 minutes in each of the last six games.

The loss dropped the Lakers to the No. 4 seed in a tightly bunched Western Conference, where Los Angeles could land anywhere from the second seed to having to be involved in the play-in games if they drop below sixth.

Only two games separate the Lakers from the Clippers, who sit in eighth place.

Los Angeles is currently set up to face the new-look Warriors in a high-profile 4-5 matchup. Golden State is now 20-5 since they acquired star wing Jimmy Butler from the Heat.

Far from guaranteed to survive even that series, the Lakers would then line up to face a No. 1 seed Oklahoma City Thunder, a team that has a league-best 64-12 record.

The murderer’s row of a playoff path is not a sustainable roadmap to success, considering the Thunder have the league’s best net rating (14.1) since the All-Star break, while the Warriors are second best (9.6), followed by the reigning champion Celtics (8.7).

Los Angeles has another litmus test on tap as they face the Thunder on Sunday.